Beatrix Runs

Beatrix runs because she knows

that her heart beats like a vagabond's

Breathing hard and looking back -

her past is breathing down her neck.

Up the hill, through gate

Cross a bridge

Oh, it is taking her away.

Mom and Dad are fast asleep

and the sunrise creeping down the street

Wake up soon, but there's no note

She is gone, she's taken by the road

a little girl in a dress

like a ghost, swallowed by the mist.

Don't tell me how to live my life

or tell me how to be alive

Mama dear, Daddy dear

You know I'll be alright

Of all those lessons you could teach

you failed to practice what you preach

Mama dear, Daddy dear

I don't belong to you

I'm headed for the night.

Beatrix runs because she feels

there's a mire sucking at her heels

a prom queen dress, a waiting mould

and good girls do what they've been told

Up ahead there's a flash -

It is dawn - and she is gone.

Don't tell me how to live my life

or tell me how to be alive

Mama dear, Daddy dear

You know I'll be alright

Of all those lessons you could teach

you failed to practice what you preach

Mama dear, Daddy dear

I'm leaving at first light.

And all those plans you made for me

the daughter I will never be

the soccer shoes and magazines

I'm leaving them behind

Those pictures hanging on the wall

are telling me it's all my fault

But I can hear another voice

that's calling me away, away

Away.

Don't tell me how to live my life

or tell me how to feel alive

Mama dear, Daddy dear

you know I'll be alright

The road is waiting in the haze

the peaks and valleys of my days

and all I know is

wherever I, where I may go

I'll be alright -

I'm headed for the night.