harry chapin
tangled up puppet
I'm a tangled up puppet, Spinning round in knots, And the more I see what I used to be, The less of you I've got.  There was a time that you curled up in my lap; like a child You'd cling to me smiling, yours eyes wide and wild Now you slip through my arms, wave a passing hello Twist away and toss a kiss, laughing as you go  You used to say "Read me a story and sing me songs of love" For you were Princess Paradise like your wings of a dove Now I chase you and tease you trying to remake you my own But you just turn away and say "please leave me alone."  And I'm a tangled up puppet All hanging in your strings I'm a butterfly in a spider's web Fluttering my wings  And the more that I keep dancing And spinning round in knots The more I see what I used to be And the less of you I've got  You are a drawer full of makeup and rinses and things You keep changing your moods like your earrings and rings But tonight while we played tag for five minutes in the yard Just for a moment I caught you off guard But now you write your secret poems In a room just for your dreams You don't find time to talk to me About the things you mean And what I mean is  I have watched you take shape from a jumble of parts And find the grace and form of a fine work of art Hey, you, my brand new woman, newly come into your own Don't you know that you don't need to grow up all alone