my name is alice walker
they never told me why
i'm not named for anybody
it's a name out of the sky
they thought it was pretty i guess
way back when
i'll change it some day
i like to pretend
i'm just a visitor here
like on one of those shows
in a house full of people i don't hardly know
but we'll all get to home in a week or so
back to real life
and i'm picking up the carpet in the corner where i crash
i'm too tired to separate the pennies from the trash
and i don't guess it matters even why jesus died
i can tell you about sins
they got this duplex up on fire line road
it's way out from town
so the rent's pretty low
not much more than a cinder block cell
just like the one next door
and the next one as well
and the bus don't run out here but three times a day
the 7-11
it's a full mile away
and there's a car in the yard
mostly rust and dents
we moved here in it
but it hasn't run since
forget my name
can you forget my face
gonna lose myself in some finer place
finer places
where i'll go
i'll leave no trace out on fire line road
and there's a pile of daddy's quick-picks scattered on the floor
among the half empty bottles
that chair against the door
in case he comes home drinkin'
with lovin on his mind
i'd never let it happen
but that don't stop him tryin'
my sister weren't so lucky
he got to her too soon
she never saw it coming
he knew just what to do
to keep her silent
i swear to god i'll kill him if i can
he said she made him do it
after all he's just a man
forget my name
can you forget my face
gonna lose myself in some finer place
finer places
where i'll go
i'll leave no trace out on fire line road
now she snorts that crank
and stares at the phone
she ain't big as a minute
just skin on bone
she bites her nails right down to the quick
and they've taken her babies
and they won't give them back
and i know she loves them and god knows she tries
but when you're that far down you're just going to get high
it's like eating or breathing to the rest of us
she can't even feel bad without the stuff
forget my name
can you forget my face
gonna lose myself in some finer place
finer places
where i'll go
and i'll leave no trace out on fire line road
my name is alice walker
they never told me why