The Kelly Song Collective

Shanick Road

 

My mother came from Lakefield in Ontario

Ran away when she was seventeen

Got a job working nights in Peterborough

And held shadows together in between

 

I was born in a bedroom on King street

Mom was 21 or 22

My memories are empty rooms and radio

Figured it was the best that she could do

 

I wish that I could cut off my hands

Or fall asleep and let my life reload

But I don’t regret a single thing that I have done

So I’m staying here way up the Shanick Road

 

I went to school and went to church on Sunday

Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains

Sometimes mom stayed out all night

Pretend my little bed was a train

 

Father Mike coached the hockey team

and helped mom when she couldn’t make it through

She died before my 13th birthday

So I stayed with an aunt I hardly knew

 

Father Mike would eulogize strategy

Put down his bag and let the front door close

Asked me if I still believe in Jesus

I became another one of those

 

I’ve never tried to understand this darkness

But I tried to feel the warm light on my face

They found him in his bedroom before Sunday mass

Shadows on the wall could not erase

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© Michael Worthington Music 2019