mama's kitchen table

walker mcguire

just a four by six slab of georgia pine

coffee stains cover up the chip in egg shell white

dad bought it new in 1982 and it ain't left that dining room

since it rolled off that sears assembly line

it was the start and the end of every day

hats off

heads down

who's turn is it to pray

gather 'round crying and laughing

more than just the biscuits we were passing

where i learned the words kids shouldn't say

and asked to be excused before you walked away

and all the life lessons you can't find on no label

they're right there around mama's kitchen table

it was built for six but there was never less than eight

it's held a lifetimes worth of my homework and homemade birthday cakes

and those cups i used to drink my apple juice had more than once been filed with booze

on the weekends when my folks went away

it was the start and the end of every day

hats off

heads down

who's turn is it to pray

gather 'round crying and laughing

more than just the biscuits we were passing

where i learned the words kids shouldn't say

and asked to be excused before you walked away

and all the life lessons you can't find on no label

they're right there around mama's kitchen table

around mama's kitchen table

yeah it's where i learned to hold and fold and raise

and how it ain't always about who wins the game

and all the life lessons you can't find on no label

i've had a seat right there since the day i left the cradle

around mama's kitchen table

around mama's kitchen table

it's just a four by six slab of georgia pine