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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
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“In addition to the autobiographical lyrics, this is really about the obligation we have as children to examine where we come from and where we want to be. It's directly conveyed in the bridge line that says, ‘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.’ No matter whose childhood it is – even the best of childhoods – there are traits we might want to weed out and traits that we really want to continue. And to try and do that thoughtfully I think leads to a more fulfilled life.” — Picking Up the Pieces Press Release
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