Queenie

Grandma's name was Maybellene
But everybody called her Queenie
She raised three boys all by herself
So she smoked just like a chimney
She rolled her own and she laughed too loud
Drove a bright red station wagon

She cussed like a sailor so she was pretty much
The coolest thing I could imagine
She played black music on the radio
Kinda slow danced while she was sweepin'
Sometimes when the daylight turned
I'd catch her gently weepin'

She said, "sometimes, you just have to cry"
That's the price you pay to have a better life
Oh, and this old world gets hard
When you're carryin' an orphan's heart

She lived alone for fifteen years
Then one day, she just got tired of the silence
So two weeks later, she packed it up
And moved in right beside us
'Cause mama and daddy both worked so much
Oh, if there was trouble, I could find it

So now they had an extra pair of eyes
Tell you the truth, I didn't mind it
She'd buy me baseball cards and let me stay up late
Taught me every dirty joke I ever told you
She'd let me play guitar and turn it up too loud
Aw, man, I loved her more than Coca-Cola

Oh, so I just had to sit and cry
I held her hand and said my last goodbye
Oh, and this old world gets hard
When you're carryin' an orphan's heart

Carryin' an orphan's heart