Track 7 of the album Candle Down · 2019
Mother's Handwriting on the Grocery List
“My mother's handwriting on a grocery list, still telling me to buy lemons. I had to stop the take twice.”
jazz ballad · family ballad · parlour ballad · 3:37
Lyrics
I found it in the drawer today A list in Mother's hand Eggs and tea and apple jam In letters neat and grand But the lines begin to wander now The loops don't close the same And at the bottom, very small She wrote down my own name Mama, I'll carry the bags I'll walk beside you slow Your hand was always steady Now it's mine you hold Mama, I'll carry the bags There's no place I would go Than here beside you, in the quiet Where your good heart still shows She asks me what day it is I tell her it's a Tuesday She smiles and says, a lovely day For tea and a little sunshine She used to know the answer To every thing I'd ask Now I'm the one who knows the way And she's the one I'll grasp Mama, I'll carry the bags I'll walk beside you slow Your hand was always steady Now it's mine you hold Mama, I'll carry the bags There's no place I would go Than here beside you, in the quiet Where your good heart still shows I'll keep the list I'll keep it near Folded in my coat Each wobbly line A little song Of every day she wrote Mama, I'll carry the bags I'll walk beside you slow Your hand was always steady Now it's mine you hold Mama, I'll carry the bags There's no place I would go Than here beside you, in the quiet Where your good heart still shows Eggs and tea and apple jam And me And me