House by the Creek

Mama lies on the couch in her old wedding gown She turned pale long before the carnival had left town She stares at the front porch on the outlook for dad "Don't worry, I'll be back in a week" is the last thing he said We all knew he gambled in the city and lost Money we didn't have must've been the line that he crossed It's been over a year instead of a week Here in our house, our house by the creek Me and my family live in the Netherlands In the house daddy built with his bare hands My younger brother Jimmy is playing outside With his cap gun he tries to shoot planes from the sky In his chair by the window sits uncle Fred Since he's back from the war there ain't a word he has said And Freckles my sister she passed away sir Sometimes in my dreams I catch up with dad and with her What we end up with is not what we seek Here in our house, our house by the creek My name is Louis, it's Louis, all right I play dad's old accordion all day and all night I just turned eleven, so I'm still a kid But when I grow up I wanna find out what daddy did Mister believe me, I was taught not to cry And that family should stay together 'till the day that you die Yeah mister believe me, I was taught boys don't cry And that the town where you're born is the town where you'll die That the town where you're born is where you'll probably die What did God wanna show when He created man weak We don't understand in our house by the creek