Mr. Bailey’s Daughter

Whoa, ha ha! Now, this is the story of a lower-middle class, American preacher's kid who found that we don't always do all the right things for the right reasons. Now my Dad is the finest man of God to ever grace the pulpit of a small Pentecostal church. To tell the truth, I was born on Saturday and in church on Sunday, and I guarantee I was never late. 'Cause Mom was the organ player and the Sunday School teacher, while I took up the offering. AThey would always make me give it back. And as a child, I had the honor of sittin' in the front row for the first five minutes of every sermon. That's usually how long it took to be called up to the platform for the express purpose of keeping me from escaping under the pews. And there I would sit, behind the pulpit, and count ceiling tiles for the next hour and a half. Like most people, over the years, I got used to the pressure of sayin' and doin' all the right things whether I believed it or not. 'Cause if I didn't I had the largest gathering of elderly ladies ever to act upon their moral obligation to report everything I ever said or did. So, you can understand why I loved goin' to the youth conventions, 'cause it proved beyond that shadow of a doubt there were girls goin' to church who were under sixty-five years of age. And suddenly there she was, fourth row back, on the left, in the choir, the absolute dream of every kid ever to seek permission to borrow the family car!

Mr. Bailey has a daughter
Hopin' she'll notice me
Got me singin' in the choir
Volunteerin' my time for free
Now I'm prayin' for revival
Workin' at livin' right
Man, I never looked more sanctified
At church on Sunday night

Now, it's amazing what'll turn your life around in a hurry. Overnight I'd come to realize what it meant, wrong or right, to be motivated. I was captivated. I was serious. I was hearin' voices! And all the things I'd been doin' for years took on a whole new significance. You see, now I was out to please someone besides myself. I was convinced she was an angel from Heaven. Who knows? She might have been. She disappeared fast enough! But now look who's still here tryin' to do all the right things, and maybe sometimes even for the right reasons! Break it down!

From the hearts of beggars to the hearts of Kings
The heart's the greatest of deceitful things
Expose what's wicked in the minds of man
You can count to twenty and it's back again

Mr. Bailey has a daughter
Hopin' she'll notice me
Got me singin' in the choir
Volunteerin' my time for free
Now I'm prayin' for revival
Workin' at livin' right
Man, I never looked more sanctified
At church on Sunday night

Mr. Bailey has a daughter
Hopin' she'll notice me
Got me singin' in the choir
Volunteerin' my time for free
Now I'm prayin' for revival
Workin' at livin' right
Man, I never looked more sanctified
At church on Sunday night

Find your place in the games we play
No one's safe when it's safe to say
The perfect motive has another, ulterior
Check yours twice when you're feelin' superior

Mr. Bailey has a daughter
Hopin' she'll notice me
Got me singin' in the choir
Volunteerin' my time for free
Now I'm prayin' for revival
Workin' at livin' right
Man, I never looked more sanctified
At church on Sunday night, now

Mr. Bailey has a daughter
Hopin' she'll notice me
Got me singin' in the choir
Volunteerin' my time for free
Now I'm prayin' for revival
Workin' at livin' right
Man, I never looked more sanctified
At church on Sunday night

From the hearts of beggars to the hearts of Kings
The heart's the greatest of deceitful things
Expose what's wicked in the minds of man
You can count to twenty and it's back again