Lindsey France's Blog
somebody's baby / 07.25.08, 03:32 PM
I wanted to share these lyrics with you. They are from Jon Foreman’s song “Somebody’s Baby.” This year, I have often considered what my life would be like had I been dealt a different hand. I was blessed with parents who not only cared for me but found 1,000 ways to express that love to me every day. I grew up in a comfortable home. I had the opportunity to attend private Christian schools with teachers who expected us to succeed and with a variety of extracurricular activities. This year, I had the opportunity to leave home, come to Chicago, and pursue a dream of sorts.
But had I not been sheltered from violence (had I been to the funerals of family and friends killed in gang wars or random acts of violence), had I not had loving parents (had my parents been addicts or had they abused me), had I not been far removed from the prevalence of drugs (had selling been the only way to get those shoes, had using been the only way to ease the pain), had I not been given the opportunity of a good education (had I been placed in over crowded classrooms, had I been given no reason to believe that I could be something)…
…who would I be? Where would I be? Would I be sitting in City Hall wearing shorts and a t-shirt clutching the hand of a man 18 years older than me waiting to obtain a marriage license instead of dreaming of a pretty white dress, flowers, and a party of a reception? Would I be staying in shelter because my family refused to help instead of going home to parents who would do anything to keep a roof over my head? Would I be selling my body to survive instead of fiercely protecting my heart? Would I be contemplating suicide instead of dreaming of a future?
Jordan always says that we all have addictions, but some are more obvious than others. We’re all the same — you, me, the murderers, the prostitutes, the celebrities, the politicians. We are all so fragile. We all fall. Some of us have a lot farther to fall than others, some of us have no one to catch us.
I know I have a tendency to not read lyrics when someone puts them on a blog. Please read these. :-)
She yells, “if you were homeless
Sure as hell you’d be drunk
Or high or trying to get there
Or begging for junk
When people don’t want you
They just throw you money for beer.”
Her name was November
She went by Autumn or Fall
It was seven long years
Since the Autumn when all
Of her nightmares grew fingers
And all of her dreams grew a tear
She’s somebody’s baby
Somebody’s baby girl
And she’s somebody’s baby still
She screams, “Well if you’ve never
Gone at it alone, well then go ahead
You better throw the first stone
You got one lonely stoner
Waiting to bring to her knees”
She dreams about heaven
Remembering hell
As a nightmare she visits
And knows all too well
Every now and again
When she’s sober she brushes her teeth
She’s somebody’s baby…
Today was her birthday
Strangely enough
When the cops found her body
At the foot of the bluff
The anonymous caller this morning
Tipped off the police
They got her I.D
From her dental remains
The same fillings still intact
The same nicotine stains
The birth and the death were both over
With no one to grieve
She’s somebody’s baby…
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Thank you for posting…
Those are true, powerful words.
By Beth K / Jul 30, 12:01 AM / #
I’m certain you just said something. Thanks Lindsey.
By Jordan / Aug 2, 02:34 PM / #