I taught myself to sing and play
 And use a little trickery
 On kids who never favored me
 Those were years of crinoline slips
 And cotton skirts and swinging hips
 And dangerously painted lips
 And stars of stage and screen
 Pedal pushers, ankle socks
 Padded bras and campus jocks
 Who hid their vernal equinox
 In pairs of faded jeans
 And slept at home resentfully
 Coveting their dreams

 And often have I wondered
 How the years and I survived
 I had a mother who sang to me
 An honest lullaby

 Yellow, brown, and black and white
 Our Father bless us all tonight
 I bowed my head at the football games
 And closed the prayer in Jesus' name
 Lusting after football heroes
 tough Pachuco, little Neroes
 Forfeiting my A's for zeroes
 Futures unforeseen
 Spending all my energy
 In keeping my virginity
 And living in a fantasy
 In love with Jimmy Dean
 If you will be my king, Jimmy, Jimmy,
 I will be your queen

 And often have I wondered
 How the years and I survived
 I had a mother who sang to me
 An honest lullaby

 I travelled all around the world
 And knew more than the other girls
 Of foreign languages and schools
 Paris, Rome and Istanbul
 But those things never worked for me
 The town was much too small you see
 And people have a way of being
 Even smaller yet
 But all the same though life is hard
 And no one promised me a garden
 Of roses, so I did okay
 I took what I could get
 And did the things that I might do
 For those less fortunate

 And often have I wondered
 How the years and I survived
 I had a mother who sang to me
 An honest lullaby

 Now look at you, you must be growing
 A quarter of an inch a day
 You've already lived near half the years
 You'll be when you go away
 With your teddy bears and alligators
 Enterprise communicators
 All the tiny aviators head into the sky
 And while the others play with you
 I hope to find a way with you
 And sometimes spend a day with you
 I'll catch you as you fly
 Or if I'm worth a mother's salt
 I'll wave as you go by

 And if you should ever wonder
 How the years and you'll survive
 Honey, you've got a mother who sings to you
 Dances on the strings for you
 Opens her heart and brings to you
 An honest lullaby