Dear Lonesome

In a dingy upstairs room, in the dirty part of town
A little girl stood waving, from a window
She was calling to me
I was standing, down below
And I heard her small voice sayin'

"Hey Mister, won't you to come up here and talk to me?
You ain't got no other place to go
I can't come outside and play 'cause I ain't got no friends
I can't come outside no way 'cause my mom is gone
And locked me in
But there is the key outside the door, it's layin' on the shelf
Why won't you to come up and talk to me
'Cause I get lonesome by myself?"

I was feelin' lonesome too
And I knew just how she felt
And I knew just what she meant
When she said she got lonesome by herself
She kept callin' to me and I thought
Well, since her mama's gone
I'll go up and talk to her a while, since we're both alone
We got to talkin' and I asked her, why she was there by herself?

"Well, my mommy never used to leave me by myself at night
But mommy says, I'm bigger now
I'm not, but that's alright
I don't go to school 'cause, I'm not old enough, right yet
But I can go to school next year
'Cause, next yea,r I'm gonna be six

I used to have a daddy, but he left a long time ago
I asked my mommy, why he left?
But my mommy says, she don't know
I know she loves my daddy
'Cause, sometimes when I smile, mommy says, "I look just like him"
Then these tears, get in my mommy's eyes

My mommy drinks
I know she does, 'cause, I can smell it on her breath
Mommy never used to drink, so, I know it's 'cause my daddy's gone
And my mommy, she gets lonesome by herself
I sure get lonesome by myself"

How she talked about her daddy, it reminded me of me
How I walked out of my own little girl
And a woman, that really loved me
As I was thinkin' of them, she said
"Have you got a little girl, that's about the size of me?
Have you got a picture of her, I can see?"

I took a picture from my wallet and handed it to her
When she saw the picture, I couldn't believe her words
"Hey! That's my mommy in that picture!
And that baby, well, that baby must be me!
And you must be my daddy then"

Then the tears rolled down my face, like they never had before
I just couldn't believe it, as I held her in my arms
And I said, "I'll wait here until your mama comes
And I'll tell her, that I still love her and I'm sorry, that I'd ever left
And I'd like to stay, if she let me
'Cause, I sure get lonesome, all by myself"

"Well, you won't be lonesome now, 'cause, I love you"