Pittsfield

I'm not afraid of you now
I know so I climb down from the bunk beds this low
I can talk back to you now
I know from a few things that I learned from this TV show
You can work late til midnight; we don't care
We can fix our own meals, we can wash our own hair
I go to school before sunrise in the cold
And I pulled the alarm and I kicked up the salad bowls

Since the time we meant to say much more
Unsaid things begin to take their toll
After school we shovel through the snow
Drive upstate in silence in the cold

You can remind me of it
That I was lazy and tired
You can work all your life
As I'm not afraid of you anymore

If I loved you oh a long time
I don't know if I can recall the last time you told me so
Here in this house in Pittsfield
The ghost of our grandmother works at the sewing machine post
Hiding the bills in the kitchen, on the floor
And my sister lost her best friend in the Persian Gulf War
There was a flood in the bathroom last May
And you kicked at the pipes when it rattled, oh the river it made

Stand there, tell me that I'm of no use
Things unspoken break us if we choose
There's still time to wash the kitchen floor
On your knees, the bath, the sink once more
You can remind me that I was tired
You can work late and do yourself honor
Now that I'm older, wiser and working less
I may regret having left the place a mess

You can remind me
That I was lazy and tired
You can work all your life
As I'm not afraid of you anymore