When I rearrange the pieces of the puzzle of my past

I sigh at the heartaches, relive the laughs

And I think about the moments that have left their mark

And the too few faces that shine a little light in the dark





If you don't mind I'm gonna tell you a story

And I think that it won't bore you

For it's a tale that I've never told

To anyone before you-- `cause it's for you





The sun of sixteen summers had put halos in your hair

If anything was in my head, twelve winters put it there

A dollar an hour is what Mama paid you to come and mind her kids

But no one could really pay you enough for what you really did





Many happy things keep happening

On my journey through this world

And in many ways, that I will never understand

I was much too late 

To be the first to make you a woman

But you were the one

Who made my mother's son a man





You know I used to read myself to sleep when I went to bed

I guess I was a dreamer then who lived inside my head

But the nights that you came you talked of things, I found I had a friend

You brought my fears of people to a sure and gentle end





Many happy things keep happening

On my journey through this world

And in many ways, that I will never understand

I was much too late 

To be the first to make you a woman

But you were the one

Who made my mother's son a man





Do you remember the night when you turned out the light

And said to me: "Please hold me"

I did not know which way to go

So I did just what you told me "Please hold me"





When I think about you now it's not that my memory fails

There's just no need for graphic telling of all the details

Let's just say you taught me something that brought me from my shell

You gave to me that first sweet taste of the heaven here in this hell





Many happy things keep happening

On my journey through this world

And in many ways, that I will never understand

I was much too late 

To be the first to make you a woman

But you were the one

Who made my mother's son a man