Girl I Mean to Be

One day I'll find the words and they'll be simple
Till then I'll just smile, in the knowledge that I'm waiting
One day I'll grow up, not such a baby
And then I won't cry out when things are frustrating

I won't be like my mother
She's scared most of the time
Highways make her nervous
And she'll never fly

I won't be like my father
He likes the bottle more than he likes me
He thinks the world is mostly bad
I'd rather be happy

I'll make my bed
I'll walk to work
I won't so easily get hurt
Oh, and be the girl i mean to be
I'll have good friends
And men with ties
Who aren't afraid to stay the night
Oh, and I'll be the girl I mean to be

Daughters will point me out in the street
Say to their mamas look how she sways
Why can't I look more like her now
I say that don't go away

There's always someone with it figured out
Or so that's what we like to think
Really the world is full of women
Who hide under coats of pink

We make our beds
We walk to work
We wipe our tears when we get hurt
We try to be the girl we mean to be
We have good friends
And men with ties
Who aren't afraid to stay the night
We try to be the girl we mean to be

And we become like our mothers
We're scared most of the time
All of the parties make us nervous
So we've gotta draw a line

We marry men like our fathers
They may love us if we find the one
But don't think that they don't struggle
It's hard finding time for fun