Family Tree

I have a mother, I have a pa We look pretty in that picture on the wall I love my brothers and my sisters too Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do My mama never taught me 'bout the world 'Cause the world turned her inside out My pa was the right arm of the law Kept us all locked in the house My brothers and my sisters needed love So I grew and they clung to me Till I became the roots and the fruits And the branches on my family tree Pain carved its name And my heart froze like winter And the splinter kindled embers Lay forgotten till they blossomed And they were hangin' out on a limb All those hopes and dreams just blowing in the wind All my aunties and my uncles too Said "she'll be back and pregnant on her own in a month or two" My mama kicked me out of the house On the day I turned 17 My daddy called me up and told me Boxes of my stuff was sittin' on the street Felt like I had the world on my shoulders But really, it was at my feet Till I became the roots and the fruits And the branches on my family tree Pain carved its name And my heart froze like winter And the splinter kindled embers Lay forgotten till they blossomed My family tree, I have watered Till it's outgrown my garden All these years bleeding tears I'm at peace underneath My family tree My family tree My family tree