Mama, I know you cannot let go
The weight that I have placed upon your scales
Is more than they were meant to hold
But steady is the hand that leads me home
I’ve never known its plan, but I’m still grasping
To the other end of its rope
Like you

Lately you just speak in words that broke
Eventually the shards will break apart
Until they start in to make you choke
All of us were once baptized in hope
Holy water that you gathered from the father
Until it started coming out your throat

And you felt it like a bad dream
But I watched it like a movie screen
Different eyes can see the same thing and not realize what it means

Oh, Lord, where did I go wrong?
A cut cord?
A kettle left too long?
But you won’t answer any prayers when I’m alone
Perfume words from alabaster songs
And tales of hurt described by fiery tongues
But you won’t answer any prayers when I’m alone
Why don't you come back like when I was young?

Mama, I know you cannot let go
Though we have both been rowing toward the ocean
It seems our motions split some time ago
Shaky are the hands with which we row
The way the rapids turn the land to sand
Feels like a steady plan to take us home

You felt it like an ending
But I watched it like a new scene
Different ears can hear the same thing and not agree on what it means

Oh, Lord, where did I go wrong?
A cut cord?
A kettle left too long?
But you won’t answer any prayers when I’m alone
Perfume words from alabaster songs
And tales of hurt described by fiery tongues
But you won’t answer any prayers when I’m alone