Track 11 of the album The Long Way Home · 2013
Mind the Step, Mum
“My mother holds the banister longer than she used to. I wrote it quietly so I wouldn't have to say it out loud.”
singer-songwriter · family folk · tender ballad · 4:11
Lyrics
You hold the banister a little longer now You used to take the stairs two at a time I carry up the shopping, you pretend you didn't ask And we both say the weather's turning fine Your hands were quick with buttons, quick with knots Now they rest a while upon the kettle's side I fill it to the line you like, not one drop more And you tell me what the neighbours did, with pride Mind the step, Mum, I've got your arm The way you had mine when the road was wide There's no hurry on this garden path I'll match my steps to yours, and walk beside Mind the step, Mum, I've got your arm It's my turn now to hold the door And I'd walk this slow a thousand times For the woman who walked me to the shore You tell the same old story of the bus The one that left you standing in the rain And I laugh in all the places that I know As if I'm hearing it for the first time again Time is just a pair of gentle hands That turns us round to face each other's place What you gave me, I am learning how to give Slowly, softly, with a patient face Mind the step, Mum, I've got your arm The way you had mine when the road was wide There's no hurry on this garden path I'll match my steps to yours, and walk beside Mind the step, Mum, I've got your arm It's my turn now to hold the door And I'd walk this slow a thousand times For the woman who walked me to the shore Mind the step, Mum I've got your arm Home is where we're slow