WOMAN OF THE FUTURE
Came to clean and cook, to sew, to wind a spool
I won’t send you to that damned Irish school
Stoic and strong, met a man from Kilkenny
Had nine of her own Irish children
And all the others, took them in
Sent for the priest and said don’t ever touch my kid
And years later, took care of the man who raised her
Speak to me like this is my home
So I don’t wanna give up now
I’m not gonna let her down
I’m not gonna give up now
Cause she was a woman of the future
Never lost faith or lost the fight
They didn’t think you’d even make it through the night
Loss could never stop you from believing in a future
Grief had always been a part of life
When the next one came around
Just weeks till school was out and spring had thawed the ground
Called you in - even wed, showing was a sin
You’d never learned how to be bound
So I’m giving all I got
I’m gonna make it out of the dark
I’m gonna give it all I got
Cause she was a woman of the future
They say it’s for better or worse
We’re just doing the worst part first
How to forgive, how to go on and live,
Instead of spending the time in reverse?
And I don’t wanna be brand new
Don’t need a man or an answer to get through
She had a whole life before him, knew how to hope in mourning
how to hold on, and I can too
I’m moving steady now
I’m learning hope is how we can be
I’m moving forward now
Cause she was a woman of the future
Yes it’s true that she looked the other way
It’s also true, he told me that she used to say,
When you educate a man, you only teach one person;