That Girl (Who) I'm Becoming

Before You Were Mine

 

I'm ten years away from the corner you laugh on with your pals,

Maggie McGeeney and Jean Duff.

The three of you bend from the waist,

Holding each other, or your knees, and shriek at the pavement.

Your polka-dot dress blows round your legs.

Marilyn.

 I'm not here yet.

The thought of me doesn't occur In the ballroom with the thousand eyes,

The fizzy, movie tomorrows

The right walk home could bring.

I knew you would dancelike that.

Before you were mine,

Your Ma stands at the close with a hiding for the late one.

You reckon it's worth it.

 

The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one, eh?

I remember my hands in those high-heeled red shoes, relics,

And now your ghost clatters toward me over George Square

Till I see you, clear as scent, under the tree,

With its lights, and whose small bites on your neck, sweetheart?

 

Cha cha cha!

You'd teach me the steps on the way home from Mass,

Stamping stars from the wrong pavement.

Even then I wanted the bold girl winking in Portobello,

 Somewhere in Scotland, before I was born.

That glamorous love lasts

Where you sparkle and waltz and laugh

Before you were mine.

 This poem by Carol Ann Duffy inspired me to write this lyric. I was (and still am) interested to know what life was like before my birth. True, my mum had 3 other little ones to look after but I mean before then. My mum tells me she never really had a life dream other than being a policewoman, but she was too short! While I find it hard to believe that she didn’t want anything else, for the time she was born that was the be all and end all. So this is for you mum. Hope you like it:

It’s called: That Girl (Who) I’m Becoming

V1:

I long to stroke your scarlet ribbon hair

Kiss your tender lips without care

Wipe away the tears from your eyes while you stare

 

Chorus:

I want to know that girl

That girl who dared to dream and take risks

That girl who was always too sharp and too quick

I want to know that girl

That girl who had dreams and hopes

That girl who ran and threw snowballs in the snow

I want to know who I’m becoming

 

V2:

I long to see him loving you with passionate hands

I see you in sticky situations coping best you can

I want to see your passion seep out through your palms

(Repeat Chorus)

M8:

I want to know what happened

To this girl that used to be so fun, so free

Was it all because of me?

I want to know that girl

(Repeat Chorus)

That girl who I’m becoming.

 

Copyright © 2010 Stephanie Carfrae. All Rights Reserved.

 I wrote it when I was around 15. When we were looking at the poem in English, I was so inspired I just had to write something. I hope you like it. I’d love to know what you think. If you fancy putting music to this please email me at: stephcarfrae@yahoo.co.uk , leave a comment below or tweet me @steph_carfrae. If you’d like a ‘Lyric Your Name’ for yourself or a friend please email me at stephcarfrae@yahoo.co.uk a paragraph about them or yourself, how they have helped etc., Quick Turnaround.  Great as gifts for special birthdays.

Steph

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