Brent Best - Robert Cole

G.............Am
hey little man she said

C........................D
open your eyes lift your sleepy head

G..............Am...........................C...........D
you know tomorrow's your big day

here are your clothes she said
so I put them on and made the bed
and I went outside to play

when a sun so huge it shined
and it baked the blacktop underneath my toes
playing hopscotch on the lines

till she howled my name
and a shriek it came
with a swell of shame of sadness
I just froze
with a pain I simply can't define
yeah and she said

C...............D
I am your mother

..G.............................Am
I told your sister and baby brother

C.............D...........................G
your dog Jim and your best friend

C...........................D
that your name is Robert Cole

.......G...........................Am
and tomorrow you are nine years old

.......C.........................D....................G
but you, you will not walk this road again

now your son's heart is fair
so I took your words and I kept them there
but a young boy's mind is of a different gauge

my father's words returned to me
from some stormy evening with my mother on her knees
my life is mine he swore and raged

and he left her there upon the floor
I can hear him curse and slam the door
yeah and he found me squatting in the dirt

and he spoke to me of family
and sacrifices unforeseen
I'll the change the children worth the work
yeah and he said

please tell your mother
your oldest sister and baby brother
your dog Jim and your best friend
your name is Robert Cole
and tomorrow you are nine years old
but you, you will not walk this road again

I scanned the yard and house
secured no sign of mother's work-worn blouse
but for my heart the world was still

each foot a heavy load
the blacktop baked and burned under my toes
around the curve and below the hill

and this is the blacktop road
that I was not to walk till I was old
if Jeani saw me she would snitch

and these are the tire tracks
that will lead you down and round to where
there is a car off in the ditch

and I heard the fireman yell
this one is smashed and torn to hell
and he could not recognize the face

and I am my mother's son
but now it seems that I've gone off and become
the one to take my daddy's place

please tell your mother
my oldest sister and baby brother
my dog Jim and my best friend
my name is Robert Cole
and tomorrow I am nine years old
but I, I will not walk this road again

please tell your mother
my oldest sister and baby brother
my dog Jim and my best friend
my name is Robert Cole
and tomorrow I am nine years old
but I, I will not walk this road again