harry chapin
babysitter
When I rearrange the pieces of the puzzle of my past I sigh at the heartaches, relive the laughs And I think about the moments that have left their mark And the too few faces that shine a little light in the dark  If you don't mind I'm gonna tell you a story And I think that it won't bore you For it's a tale that I've never told To anyone before you 'cause it's for you  The sun of sixteen summers had put halos in your hair If anything was in my head, twelve winters put it there A dollar an hour is what Mama paid you to come and mind her kids But no one could really pay you enough for what you really did  Many happy things keep happening On my journey through this world And in many ways, that I will never understand I was much too late To be the first to make you a woman But you were the one Who made my mother's son a man  You know I used to read myself to sleep when I went to bed I guess I was a dreamer then who lived inside my head But the nights that you came you talked of things, I found I had a friend You brought my fears of people to a sure and gentle end  Many happy things keep happening On my journey through this world And in many ways, that I will never understand I was much too late To be the first to make you a woman But you were the one Who made my mother's son a man  Do you remember the night when you turned out the light And said to me: "Please hold me" I did not know which way to go So I did just what you told me "Please hold me"  When I think about you now it's not that my memory fails There's just no need for graphic telling of all the details Let's just say you taught me something that brought me from my shell You gave to me that first sweet taste of the heaven here in this hell  Many happy things keep happening On my journey through this world And in many ways, that I will never understand I was much too late To be the first to make you a woman But you were the one Who made my mother's son a man