Early early in the game 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