Jenny's Song

(album: Bored In The USA - 2023)

Jenny coulda been a beauty Queen
Blonde hair, 5'5" with some big blue eyes
Always has a coffee in her hand every time
She clocks in for her shift on a Friday night

She waits tables, Waffle House, syrup is maple
The hours ain't bad and the income is stable
She knows it could be worse at least she's healthy and able
She's tryna pay all her bills she's still late on the cable

She feels stuck here she's has a rough go it's been a tough year
Has mixed emotions about this town cuz she grew up here
So many good memories but had such bad luck here
Dealing with so much stuff here

She's lost her daddy to cancer, her brother to pills
Only been 6 months still doesn't feel real
Sometimes it'll hit her she's suddenly ill
Goes in the back room and throws up
Then cleans up the spill

Then she shakes it off and walks back out
"What can I get y'all?" then she writes it down
Refills the water cups and then turns around
And that smile changes back towards frown

Hey hey it's gone be okay
Everythings gonna be alright
Hey hey it's gone be ok
Everythings gonna be just fine

She's clocks out, 10:03 and counts her tips
75 bucks not bad for a shift
She fills her tank up with gas buys a Coke and chips
The drives cross town to pick up both her kids

See Annie is 9, Jackson is 7
She was a senior in high school when she got pregnant
They were a mistake and a gift straight from heaven
It's tough as a single mom but she's learned her lesson

She's got a new man, he treats her real good he does construction
She's taking it slow it's been a few months and
She can maybe see it really turning into something
But her hearts been broken too many times no need to rush it

She says, "eat your dinner, ice cream, then bed"
Alarm clock goes off at 6am
She gets the kids dressed for school and she's off again
Jenny's clocking in her second job at the Days Inn

She cleans the rooms, takes out trash
Changes sheets, sweeps the floors, folds the mats
Then leaves at 3 to pick up Annie and Jack
And drops them off with the sitter, she's working back to back

Hey hey it's gone be ok
Everythings gonna be alright
Hey hey it's gone be ok
Everythings gonna be just fine

Well Jenny says, "I'll be back, mommy's going to meet her friends"
She's in the church parking lot at 8pm
She has a smoke outside with her sponsor Kim
They talk about life and finding peace within

Then they sit down and listen to everybody's stories
She would never say it, but she finds it kind of boring
In the back of her mind she thinks, "this ain't really for me"
She don't like to open up but Kim says that's it's important

"Hi my name is Jenny I'm an addict
It's been 6 months to the very day it happened
December, 14th I witnessed something tragic
I've been sober 2 months now and haven't relapsed yet

My daddy was a good man, he worked in the mines
Spent his whole life underground never got a chance to shine
Mix that black lung with the Marlboro Lights
And he was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 59

Slowly but surely he wilted away
Chemo took everything he had but he would never break
Cracking jokes at the end telling us to be brave
He was the kindest man I've ever known I miss him everyday

My brother Chris had just got back from overseas
He comes home to see daddy in all those IVs
It was too much to bear and I was starting to see
My little brother lose himself more piece by piece

Coke turned to pills, pill turned to H
All that stuff these days is fentanyl laced
One bad batch, one time that's all it takes
I know Chris didn't wanna die and it was a mistake

We laid him to rest up there next to daddy
Up there on the hill near a big willow tree
I put fresh flowers on their graves from time to time
But the weight of all this is weighing down on me

My drinking got so bad I was a terrible mom
On benders for weeks and I could barely keep a job
I'm turning it around, I got sober, found god
I'm just blessed to be alive some days it's so hard

I'm sorry for rambling thanks for listening."
Everybody applauds as Jenny sits back down
She feels the weight of the world lifted off her shoulders
But all she really wants to do is cry right now

She hugs Kim, smokes again then she heads back home
"Annie and Jack tried to wait up but they just fell asleep
They were up late watching YouTube on my phone"
The sitter says as she grabs her coat to leave

Jenny checks on the kids, turns out the lights
Brushes her teeth and slowly climbs into bed
She lies awake for hours just thinking about life
Wondering if she'll ever feel normal again

Hey hey it's gone be ok
Everythings gonna be alright
Hey hey it's gone be ok
Everythings gonna be just fine