Circumstances of Her Life
Album: Products of Inertia
By: Jason Craig
By: Jason Craig
Duration
4:53
Genres
Description
I wrote "Circumstances" for a relative on the auspicious occasion of her 40th birthday. It's about a girl who turns 40, looks back on the first half of her life, and makes a choice for the second half. I hope it resonates with anyone pondering how they got here and where they may be going. Oh, yeah...I know...it's also not a country song. Surprise! JC
Lyrics
Circumstances of Her Life © 2008 Jason Craig All Rights Reserved She wakes to the alarm clock and she rolls out of the bed Her list of things to do starts lining up inside her head She knows today’s her birthday and that forty’s on the scene So she looks into the mirror and she goes back to nineteen She lived in sunny Florida in the land of mini-skirts A curly perm, a tan and Wham! emblazoned on her shirt She fell in with a young Marine who swept her heart away In time became the woman looking back at her today She steps into the shower but she’s thinking of those days When she and that wild-eyed Marine were the only kids to raise She had perky hair and perky eyes and perky other things Now she looks down and sees the sag four kids and forty brings These are the circumstances of the first half of her life She’s traded lots of things to be a mother and a wife With who knows what in front of her but half her life behind It’s by these circumstances she’s defined She shuts the water off steps on the scale and says a prayer Then wonders if she’d lose a pound if she just dried her hair She hears the toilet flush and then he shuts the door behind He grumbles hey and goes downstairs but stays inside her mind She’s Yoko to his John and he’s still Sonny to her Cher But now more days than not she dons her granny underwear There’s still the spark but sometimes it’s so hard to fan the flames Between their work and church and school and peewee football games These are the circumstances of the first half of her life She’s traded lots of things to be a mother and a wife With who knows what in front of her but half her life behind It’s by these circumstances she’s defined Her thoughts hold on until the silence shatters with a crash She grabs her robe and throws it on she’s downstairs in a flash She wonders what’s been broken and who’s going to help her clean But as she clears the stairs she’s unprepared for what she’s seen Black ribbons black balloons and plates a black hat on his head A saggy homemade cake they baked after she went to bed A sign that says we love you Mom and a cleaned up cup of tea And their loving eyes remind her that she’s where she wants to be She takes a second to give thanks for the amazing grace That blessed her with the ones she loves and brought her to this place ‘Cause she knows all she’s gained was worth the pain to reach this goal Her life’s a perfect picture in her heart and in her soul These are the circumstances of the first half of her life She’s traded childish things to be a mother and a wife With her whole life in front of her and half a life behind This set of circumstances suits her fine These are the circumstances of the first half of her life She’s traded foolish things to be a mother and a wife With her whole life in front of her and half a life behind This set of circumstances suits her fine This set of circumstances suits her fine This set of circumstances yours and mine
