Abuelita

Herring Caroline

I should have known why I loved 
Driving through the cactus fields 
Or wearing white leather gloves 
Admiring the virgin 
As she stands upon the moon 
Waltzing behind a second line 
Or harmonizing on gospel tunes 

Abuelita underneath the trees 
Of Costa Rica and her dark shored seas 
They won't tell me about you 
They don't want me to see 
Abuelita you're just like me 

I do not have your mind 
Nor your body 
Nor your circumstance in time 
But I feel something rising 
Up through me like a song 
It's fragile and lovely 
It's powerful and strong 

Abuelita underneath the trees 
Of Costa Rica and her dark shored seas 
They won't tell me about you 
They don't want me to see 
Abuelita you're just like me 

Oh grandmother 
Did you have to say 
Sometimes life 
Well it just turns out that way 
Waiting for a boy 
Waiting for a train 
Waiting on something to 
Make you feel again 

All of the girls 
Lined up the stairs 
Dressed like queens and princesses 
With jewels in their hair 
Wrapped up in old furs 
You gave to us that night 
We were the midnight fireworks 
We blazed in a New Year sky 

Abuelita underneath the trees 
Of Costa Rica and her dark shored seas 
They won't tell me about you 
They don't want me to see 
Abuelita you're just like me 
I'm just like thee