Isabella

He named me Isabella when I was twelve years old
Taken in agreement from my father's door
Standing in the street, we said our goodbyes

Like a stowaway he brought me to a faraway place
And the language that taught me brought blood to my face
And shame to my eyes
But I was far from home and couldn't criticize

I took him someplace west of there and in a feverish haze
I felt his calloused hands, saw his sun-stained face
He met my gaze, I closed my eyes, remembered nothing more

I woke with a start one early afternoon
I crossed the empty space of my unfamiliar room
And to my horror, staring back from the second floor
A different woman stood in every door

The first man had me tongue-tied when he reached for my hand
It would not happen again, I was made to understand
It'd be my job to please him, and others the same

I walked those wooden sidewalks till my dress was gray and torn
Soon my precious memories, too, were frayed and worn
Oh I'd been born under another name
Some silence called me misery and shame

But I lived the life he gave me, I took it as my own
The roughnecks called me a lady, and left well enough alone
I survived amidst them all

Oh great minds alike, how you hesitate
Deliberating, thinking twice, as you decide my fate
And I stand and wait for your call
To something I want no part in at all

Like a boxer in the ring, beaten and bruised
Who wanna leave behind the thing once his body's been used
I must hide my pain from view

But I remembered you at least, who you used to be
The boy I'd once given a kiss to, who might have married me
Through days of desperation, I often thought of you
And all the things that never could be true

Bound in evening gowns we gathered around a machine of great expense
I took my time, I stood in line, I peered into its lens
There I stood watching each broken wave roll by

Just a trick of the eye, but I felt you were there with me
Alone upon that foreign shore, by the gray and endless sea
"Whatever do you see?" I heard him sneer
"Oh it's nothing my dear
Oh it's nothing my dear
Hush it's nothing my darlin'
Oh it's nothing my dear"