Track 4 of the album Houseplants for Company · 2024
Mind the Kettle, Mum, I'll Get It
by Wren Hallett
“I used to be lifted onto the kitchen chair, and now I lift the heavy pot while Mum watches. Nobody warned me about that swap.”
indie folk · family folk · tender ballad · 3:36
Lyrics
You used to lift me up onto the kitchen chair Now I lift the heavy pot and you watch from there Your hands are thinner, softer, spotted like the pears But the way you hum is just the same as it ever was You write the shopping list in your careful looping hand I put the tins where you can reach them, just the way you planned You say I'm fussing, darling, and I say I know But I'd rather fuss than wonder, so I'll go slow Mind the kettle, Mum, I'll get it Sit down by the window where the light is kind Mind the kettle, Mum, I'll get it I have learned so much from you, let me be the one to try You carried me for years and years Let me carry this one cup You tell me the same story and I listen like it's new About the dance hall, and the blue dress, and the boy who never knew I could hear it forty times and want to hear it more Every word's a little door Mind the kettle, Mum, I'll get it Sit down by the window where the light is kind Mind the kettle, Mum, I'll get it I have learned so much from you, let me be the one to try You carried me for years and years Let me carry this one cup The clocks go round, the seasons turn There's nothing I would rather learn Than how to hold you, how to stay How to love you day by day Mind the kettle, Mum, I'll get it Sit down by the window where the light is kind Mind the kettle, Mum, I'll get it I have learned so much from you, let me be the one to try You carried me for years and years Let me carry this one cup Two cups steaming on the sill The afternoon is standing still Mind the kettle, Mum I'll get it