Dress Of Laces Lyrics

(John Grimaudo & Saylor White)
[Originally by Nanci Griffith]

And she has a dress of laces
It's worn in many places
The shoulder hangs upon her by a thread
And she has a need for sharin'
For someone warm and carin'
And no one sees a heart that's underfed

[Chorus:]
Young girl in love
Young girl in tears
She hasn't seen the man she loves in years

And her mother is a waitress
At the harbour bar, good graces
Where the seamen come a fishin' with their lines
And it was one of them that caught her
And left her with a daughter
Who lives with hate and loving him in mind

[Chorus]

So the young girl goes to the water
And she calls out for her father
But she ain't seen the old man in some time
Yes, and he was always boastin'
Just a drinkin' and a toastin'
And one day he left his family far behind

[Chorus]

So the mother comes home a drinkin'
With a sailor who's a thinkin' out loud
That he might stay with them awhile
So she loads her mother's pistol
And she shoots him as he whistles
A song about a sailor's life in style

Young girl in love
Young girl in tears
She kills the only man she's loved in years
And with him dies her hopes, her dreams, her fears

And she has a dress of laces
It's worn in many places
The shoulder hangs upon her by a thread
And she has a need for sharin'
For someone warm and carin'
And no one sees a heart that's underfed
And no one sees a heart that's underfed