Family Tree

Mama, I see your face now in the mirror
It's getting clearer
Daddy, all those things I said I wouldn't do
I've been drawn to 'cause I looked up to you
And I've loved you through this tangled legacy
Tracing the twisted roots of our family tree.

I stayed strong like you did
I moved on like you did
And I wound up tough as stone like you did
If I don't learn to bend I know I'm going to break
Like you did.

Lover, I must forgive you
I confused you with what I couldn't see inside of me
Dark things pulling, not evolving
It made a puppet out of me
And you came with your own history
Both caught in the branches of our family tree.

I stayed strong like you did
I moved on like you did
And I wound up all alone like you did
If I don't learn to bend, I know I'm gonna break just like you did.

I love you but I need to look at who we've been
Take the fruit but choose the seeds I scatter in the wind
That's the job of the kid: to do better than our parents did.

So I'll stay strong like you did
And I'll move on like you did
But I won't hide from the truth like you did
I'm learning to bend so I won't break
And you can bet I'll teach my child
that love will always find a way just like you did.