Childhood Days

Driving down I-55
Through Sikeston and Cape Girardeau
On through St. Louis and then by Litchfield
Bring me closer to home
To see my family I've missed for so long
With the kids growing much too fast
They tell me they dream to be big someday
To grow up and move away

But I remember

Rollerblading down the street
Playing hide and seek
Freeze tag in the small town park
Selling lemonade and iced tea
Reading under the old oak trees
Running in the rain
Buying penny bubblegum
Chasing down the train
Days of childhood left behind
Never forgotten in time

Memories flood my brain
As the road continues on
I can't help but remember
A lifetime long ago
The country station plays old familiar tunes
They bring up pictures in my head
Of lazy afternoons in June
Days that drug on forever
I wanted to be big
I wanted a career
A high paying gig

Days became shorter
With boyfriends and part-time jobs
Still, being young
Was still no fun at all
I wanted to grow up
To be an adult in a grown up world
Chasing dreams instead of fireflies
Grown up life seemed so fun
So full of surprise

And I remember

Driving to the movies
Shopping at the mall
Kissing on the front porch
Playing Volleyball
Studying for the ACT's
Marching in the band
Breaking up for the first time
Hurts really bad
Graduation and College days
Childhood left behind

No job or money can replace
The days of childhood grace
Of fun and sun and lazy days

Pulling in the driveway
I see my mom and dad
My sisters and my brothers
And all the kids they've had
It's great being home
The memories make me smile
So I tell my nephews and nieces
To have fun while it lasts
' Cuz childhood days disappear too fast
They'll grow up and miss the ease
Of childhood days
Swinging on the swings
Dancing in the breeze

They'll remember

Rollerblading down the street
Playing hide and seek
Freeze tag in the small town park
Selling lemonade and iced tea
Reading under the old oak trees
Running in the rain
Buying penny bubblegum
Chasing down the train
Days of childhood left behind
Never forgotten in time
Never forgotten in time.

9:10

We were twelve in a run down house
Twelve beer drinking girls
Give us our Beast and Natty Light
Rooftop kegs and starlight
Partied better than any frat
Beer pong and disco balls
Tricycle races and Pokey sticks
Just 12 Kelly Clarkson singing chicks

Who says girls can't drink
We can hold our own
Keep your cocktails and your wine
Kegs of beer are fine!

Horror movie marathons
Smoking from apple cores
Nintendo track meet brackets
NCAA basketball fanatics
Shower beers and curling irons
Makeup, miniskirts
Watch out boys, here come 12 girls
Who'll kegstand your world

Because...
Who says girls can't drink
We can hold our own
Keep your cocktails and your wine
Kegs of beer are fine

We can drink all night long
No dancing clubs or shoes
We need not carry no silly purses
Sitting on the roof singing Kelly Clarkson verses
"Since you been gone
I can breathe for the first time"
We belt it out and sing it loud
Together in time

Everynight the party starts
At 9:10 on the dot
Rooftop beers and starlight
The Beast and Natty Light

Because...
Who says girls can't drink
We can hold our own
Keep your cocktails and your wine
Kegs of beer are fine

We were twelve in a run down house
Twelve beer drinking girls
College days and beer drinking pasts
Make a toast and raise your glass

Keep your cocktails and your wine!
For us real girls
Kegs of beer are fine!

I Believe in Me.

You may try to hold me down
You may try to push me
But I’ll show you that you’re wrong
I can make it
I am strong
You didn’t let me show you
All that I could do
Wrapped up in your power
You tried to hold me down
But now, you crazy lady, it’s the final hour

I gave my work my heart and soul
I worked so hard, but lost
You tried to hold me under
Walked out on you
Now you sit and wonder

My heart may be breakin’
But my faith, it won’t be shakin’
Because I believe in ME

I won’t let you hold me down
I can’t let you push me around
I will show you that you’re wrong
I will make it, I am strong
I won’t let you tell me,
“You’re not good enough”
I won’t let you say,
“You don’t have the stuff”
I’m ready and I’m trying
I’m gonna take to the sky
I’m ready and I’m trying
Oh crazy boss lady, now I’m flying

My heart may be breakin’
But my faith, it won’t be shakin’
Because I believe in ME

I found a place inside of me
A place where I am free
It’s where you’re no longer
It’s a place
Where I am stronger
Try to stop me if you can
But I’ll kick your ass
You have no way to stop me
Because I’m free of you at last
My heart isn’t breaking…
Because I believe in me.
Yeah, I believe in ME.

Souther Soul Girl

A California girl
Barefoot on concrete
Fry an egg
Hot on my feet
Hide and seek in the fog
Running in fields of cotton
Sweet tea and sugared rice
My southern soul's a callin'

I like grits
Fried okra with my chicken
Cowboy boots
Get me kickin'
Lightning bugs and dragonflies
Sweet potatoes and rhubarb pies
Dusty roads long forgotten
Rows and rows of bleach white cotton

Moved midwest at age seven
In our beat up old Chevy
2000 miles acorss plains and mountains
Livin' life down by the levy
Small town Illinois home
FFA and John Deere Green
Flashlight tag and Kick-the-Can
Closer to a southern dream

A Valley girl
But with a southern soul
Can't keep her away
The south will call her home....

Mississippi, Georgia, Vacations in Alabama
Meetin' Vince Gill, Randy and Teddy
Fishin; and singin' Tennessee River
Now my soul is ready
Muggy nights and drenching rains
Southern crickets call me home
Sweet tea and sugared rice
Weeping willows bend and moan

I like grits
Fried okra with my chicken
Cowboy boots
Get me kickin'
Lightning bugs and dragonflies
Sweet potatoes and rhubarb pies
Dusty roads long forgotten
Rows and rows of bleach white cotton

Lightning bugs and dragonflies
Sweet potatoes and rhubarb pies
Dusty roads long forgotten
Rows and rows of bleach white cotton

A Valley girl
But with a southern soul
Can't keep her away
The south will call her home....

A song.

Here we are together
We've made it through the years
Weathered life and changes
Shared our fears and tears
And now it's all different
It's changing before our eyes
Life is not the same
It's a challenge
Full of surprise

Can we keep it going
Can we stay forever strong
Will it always last
Will we always have a song

You had me from hello
You're my best friend
I've thanked God for unanswered prayers
I've carried your love with me
I want to be yours, faithfully
Forever and ever, Amen

You have been my love
And then you are mylight
You keep me sane
You make life worth the fight
So I sing these words to you
Forever through the changes
No matter what life brings
Tornadoes, lightening, rain
God help me, we'll remain us

We can keep it going
We can stay forever strong
It will always last
We will always have a song

You had me from hello
You're my best friend
I've thanked God for unanswered prayers
I've carried your love with me
I want to be yours, faithfully
Forever and ever, Amen

I can't believe I've questioned
The love between you and me
I know that we are special
A song we'll always sing
No matter how life changes
Together we'll always be
No matter what surprises come
They'll creep up and knock us down
But we'll always be, you and me

You had me from hello
You're my best friend
I've thanked God for unanswered prayers
I've carried your love with me
I want to be yours, faithfully
Forever and ever, Amen

Memories...

I've been living in the city
For too many years now
Trying to find my own way
Gotta be somebody somehow
Don't know where I'm going
But I remember where I've been
I've only got the future,
This old journal and a pen.
Making notes
Trying to remember my life
And how it used to be...

There may have been no highways
Just some old dirt roads
We met at the firehouse
Wearing our faded jeans and boots
Our flannel shirts to keep us warm

We drove out to the coop
I had my first beer there
Natty light keg surrounded by a group
Telling stories
Passing time
No work tomorrow
No deadlines

Freshman days and Senior friends
Singing by the fire
Don Mclean's 'merican Pie
Stars not faded by city lights
Bales lit by kerosene to keep us warm

There were no guitars
No sappy love songs
Just Cash or Strait
Or even McGraw
Playing all night long
The radio was blasting
We tried to sing along

Freshman days and Senior friends
Singing by the fire
Don Mclean's 'merican Pie
Stars not faded by city lights
Bales lit by kerosene to keep us warm

The fire died
The keg ran dry
We made our way to bed
We slept in tents
On the ground
Surrounded by our friends

There we had our first kisses
We broke all the rules
We enjoyed each night
We drove home in the morning light
Embers on the fire
Memories to keep us Warm

I've been living in the city
For too many years now
Trying to find my own way
Gotta be somebody somehow
Don't know where I'm going
But I remember where I've been
I've only got the future,
This old journal and a pen.
Making notes
Trying to remember my life
And how it used to be...


Freshman days and Senior friends
Singing by the fire
Don Mclean's 'merican Pie
Stars not faded by city lights
Bales lit by kerosene to keep us warm