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Once when our mother called
She had a voice of last year's cough
We passed around the phone
Sharing a word about Oregon
When my turn came, I was ashamed
When my turn came, I was ashamed
Once when we moved away
She came to Romulus for a day
Her Chevrolet broke down
We prayed it'd never be fixed or found
We touched her hair, we touched her hair
We touched her hair, we touched her hair
When she had her last child
Once when she had some boyfriends, some wild
She moved away quite far
Our grandpa bought us a new VCR
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it
We saw her once last fall
Our grandpa died in a hospital gown
She didn't seem to care
She smoked in her room and colored her hair
And I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed of her
She had a voice of last year's cough
We passed around the phone
Sharing a word about Oregon
When my turn came, I was ashamed
When my turn came, I was ashamed
Once when we moved away
She came to Romulus for a day
Her Chevrolet broke down
We prayed it'd never be fixed or found
We touched her hair, we touched her hair
We touched her hair, we touched her hair
When she had her last child
Once when she had some boyfriends, some wild
She moved away quite far
Our grandpa bought us a new VCR
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it
We saw her once last fall
Our grandpa died in a hospital gown
She didn't seem to care
She smoked in her room and colored her hair
And I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed, I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed of her
Lyrics submitted by etcetera_whatever
Track duration: 04:41
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"We watched it all night, we grew up INSIDE of it
We watched it all night, we grew up in spite of it"
could be wrong though
In the beginning, he is ashamed. Ostensibly, because he did something wrong to drive his mother away. Children often blame themselves for causing their parents to separate and for their own abandonment even if their blame is irrational. Perhaps, the belief that one is responsible for causing something bad to happen is more comforting than is the alternative: that caregivers can be undependable and mothers can be unloving.
Nevertheless, as people mature with age, develop a unified sense of self, and are no longer as dependent, they may better recognize imperfections in caregivers (notice that adolescents are good at this!). Thus, the last line of the song (i.e., “I was ashamed of her”) suggests that the shame has been redirected to the mother. The child has matured and now is able to see her for what she is: narcissistic, disinterested, self-indulgent, and unloving. She is less a mother and he is less a child.
it's all so interesting and beautiful and cleverly portrayed.