that's what keeps her getting by

stack of bills on her kitchen table

out go the lights and off goes the cable

if she don't pay 'em by the 15th

and it don't look like she's gonna be able. two mouths to feed

two jobs barely get it done

a lot on her plate for a single mom at twenty-one

from the outside looking in you'd think her world would crumble

but she keeps finding that light at the end of the tunnel. somehow she keeps gettin' by

the only soft shoulder she knows. is on some lonely road she's going down

she's going down

sometimes she feels like throwing in the towel but she's not

no matter what she's gonna give her kids

a better life than what she's got. and that's what keeps her gettin' by

friday noon

parent teacher day

it's johnson elementary or half a shift's pay

but she wouldn't miss it for the world. she looks around at all the daddy's in the room

wishing her kids had one of them too

this ain't how she planned it her life's going ten different ways

it's off to little league and then to ballet

somehow she keeps gettin' by

the only soft shoulder she knows. in every dark cloud

oh she

keeps finding that silver lining. sometimes she feels like throwing in the towel

but she's not

no matter what she's gonna give her kids

a better life than what she's got

and that's what keeps her gettin' by. yeah

that's what keeps her gettin' by.