The Rooms My Mother Made - Carrie Newcomer

She said, «Your coat isn’t new but it’s gonna be clean

Stand up for yourself and say what you mean

Look at me when I’m talkin' to you

I’m talking to you.»

I might work like dog, I might swear like a sailor

I’ve loved her and fought her and sometimes failed her

But I always come home to the rooms my mother made

Don’t be afraid to look behind you

And take what’s worth taking

Leave what needs leaving behind

I’ve washed the newborn and held hands with the dying

Howled with the laughing, embraced the grieving

There’s so much to gain and so much to lose along the way

Yet I was born a woman and proud to be so

Glad that I’ve learned what I needed to know

But I always come home to the rooms my mother made

Don’t be afraid to look behind you

And take what’s worth taking

Leave what needs leaving behind

When I stand up I can stand up strong

I can burn like a coal and say what I mean

I can cradle my lover’s head like a treasure

Whisper something fearlessly tender

I always come home

I always come home

I always come home to the rooms my mother made