FAMILY TREE

by: Nicole Upchurch

"Family Tree is a story song presenting the human paradigm of individual freedom vs. tribal belonging. This theme echoed throughout our story sessions and resonated deeply within myself as well."

~ Nicole Upchurch

Pa was born an old soul, and Ma was born a child
Raised just like a white rose to be picked in her prime

Pa was only waiting for heavy hands upon his head
To tell him he had the power to heal

St. Mary’s Chapel is where they wed
Ma crossed her arms to hide the tug of her hem
Pa unclasped his weathered palms and said his amens
Hoping better times would come with a child

Beyond the tidy garden rows
There grows an ancient apple tree
How sweet the fruit I’ll never know
Til I have wings, til I have wings

I was born a wrecking ball to the family name
Pa’s expectations went as soon as they came
As soon as I was able to be on my own
I preferred to be alone

Out past the garden and out past the fields
Seeking silent solace in the untilled hills
Far from the whisperings about that strange child
Who’s always wandering off on his own

One snowy Sunday afternoon
Needing to escape Ma’s stuffy parlor room
Towards the highest branches I began to climb
One icy step at a time

Beyond the tidy garden rows
There grows an ancient apple tree
How sweet the fruit I never knew
Till I had wings, till I had wings

Next morning’s paper the headlines read
Beneath the county’s tallest tree, a child found dead
Pa’s a hardworking man, Ma always does just what she says
Hoping better times would come

Hoping better times would come (how sweet the truth)

How sweet the fruit I never knew (I never knew, never knew)
How sweet the fruit I never knew (I never knew, never knew)
How sweet the fruit I never knew (I never knew, never knew)

Hoping better times would come with a child