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Baby of the
Family |
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by Alice Matthews
Verse 1
We resented you and envied the attention that was paid
to your itsy bitsy baby ways for every move you made.
But what we didn't notice, We now really must admit
that when you really needed some, it was mighty hard to get. |
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Chorus
Oh, the baby of the family sings a different tune
It's very often lonely, but it never is jejune.
Though the chorus does not lend itself to singing by a throng
We're here to toast and pray for many verses to your song. |
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Verse 2
We thought that you were pampered, spoiled rotten, and
protected.
So we filled your life with scary things that others had neglected
We created lurking monsters and spooky ghosts that hover.
We even planted perils under every manhole cover. |
For country kids
We created lurking monsters and ghosts with silent feet.
We even planted perils underneath the privy seat. |
When Sandie was
little, Guy told her that there were prisoners under the street and it was
her civic duty to drop pebbles on them through grates and open manhole
covers. |
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Verse 3
Experience was a benefit we freely passed along.
We scolded and admonished you to teach you right from wrong.
But in spite of all our great advice and all that we could do,
You came to judge the outer world by the way we treated you. |
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Verse
4
You grew to be quite feisty. Your
cunning knows no bounds.
If you couldn't go directly you could find a way around.
We gasped at many exploits and the people that you wed,
You traveled many places that we angels ne'er would tread. |
For Betty
You grew to be quite stubborn. Your courage knows no bounds.
You had to go directly. You could never go around.
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From what I have
heard from Betty and confirmed by Lenore, she was painfully truthful even
when a lie would have served her better.
Although none of you had the disastrous marriages that Sandie did, some of
you made unconventional choices, so I didn't change the rest of the verse. |
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Verse 5
You could have been the captain of our little family ship,
but we kept you in your stateroom throughout the whole darn trip.
The tiny slot allotted you was way below the deck
And if you tried to leave it we really gave you heck. |
Sonya told me about a "baby
of the family" dream in which the entire family was out on a ship. We
kept her below the deck in a narrow little slot, and every time she tried
to get out of it, we shoved her back in. |
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Verse
6
We hope the best is yet to come and life holds many blessings.
We know that you'll be good for us and always keep us guessing.
Keep well and you'll get even, though the victory is small
Cause if you play your cards right, you can outlive us all. |
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For Milan
who was the youngest for 8 years
You always were so mellow; you never did complain.
We believed we were okay to you and seldom caused you pain.
Then we discovered something that really lowered the boom.
You'd stashed a week of traveling food in the corner of your room. |
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For Les
The equipment in your sandbox would make a logger proud.
You peopled it with lumberjacks and talked to them out loud.
You needed them for playmates. Indeed you had not others.
You truly were an only child with two sisters and three brothers. |
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Cousin Nadine's grandson |
For Aaron
It's tough to be the younger of a sis like Jennilee.
When comparing to a paragon the norm is hard to see.
Gonna take you down to rent-a-kid and find a sib or two
to keep your elders busy and take the heat off you. |
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