Jessica's Song
I found you lost and lonely, last lamb in a den of wolves.
They told me you were slow, but I caught a single glimpse
Of the marble pillars of a hidden mind.
I took half a chance on the girl with the smile.
I gave you a few hours of my precious time,
Tried to help dig your undiscovered soul out of the jungle vines.
Looks like you found a palace underneath.

Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.

I gave you what I had, a place to stand,
Told my friends to keep civil tongues in their heads
When you came around; I made them understand
That you were one of mine, had the right to look us in the eye.
As the months dragged on, I wasn't surprised
To watch you have a fling with Buddha and go back to Christ.
When new ideas set your heart on fire,
You etched a smile into my cold face.

Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.

You bought new glasses with purple frames,
Read The Jungle, celebrated with cheap champagne.
You made socialism your dangerous crush,
The one that you never could bring home.
The same weight was pulling everyone down.
We all trudged along in the same ravine,
But in the dusty corners of your head, you found something that looks like wings.

Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.

We talked on the phone the other day,
And your parents' preacher was telling lies,
Trying to cut Jesus' own words with hate.
You told me you wanted to stand up right there, call it out for the bullshit it was.
I could see righteous rage burning in your eyes
From three hundred miles away.

Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.

I thought of you when first we met,
The shy girl and all of the things we said,
How you broke your own chains and found your way.
You grew up in a house without many books.
Teachers were quick to write you off.
Your accent was country; you reading was rough.
You had no help, but you were smart enough
To see what you were missing and look up.

Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.

No one ever thought you had the guts to do more
Than spit out the ideas you were fed,
But you clawed your way up, and you hacked your way through.
You sat in the back row; you light up the room.
You walked through the desert to drink from life's cup.
Ignore the sugar coated barbs, shut out every “bless her heart,” and rise.

Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.

When I have a heavy weight to carry
And a task set before me puts frost on my soul,
I think of you and know that Goliath still falls.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.
Jessica, I've watched you climb.