The Danish Peace Academy

Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp Songbook

32-33 Mothers, Daughters, Wives

Chorus

The first time it was fathers
the last time it was sons
And in between your husbands
marched away with drums and guns
And you never thought to question
you just went on with your lives
because all they'd taught you who to be
was mothers, daughters, wives.

You can only just remember
the tears your mothers shed
As they sat and read the papers
through the lists and lists of dead
And the gold frames held the photographs
that mothers kissed each night
And the doorframes held the shocked
and silent strangers from the fight

chorus

And it was 21 years later
with children of your own
The trumpet sounded once again
and the soldier boys were gone
And you drove their trucks and made their guns
and tended to their wounds
And at night you kissed their photographs
and prayed for safe returns

And after it was over
you had to learn again
To be just wives and mothers
when you'd done the work of men
So you worked to help the needy
and you never trod on toes
And the photos on the pianos
struck a happy family pose

chorus

Then your daughters grew to women
and your little boys to men
And you prayed that you were dreaming
when the call-up came again
But you proudly smiled and held your tears
as they bravely waved goodbye
And the photos on the mantelpieces
always made you cry

And now your growing older
and in time the photos fade
And in widowhood you sit back
and reflect on the parade
Of the passing of your memories
as your daughters change their lives
Seeing more to our existence
than just mothers, daughters, wives

chorus

And you believed them

[Judy Small, 1983. Ladies & Gems, 1984.
http://www.judysmall.net/discography.html
Also recorded on HARP.Holly Near, Arlo Guthrie, Ronnie Gilbert, Pete Seeger, 1984.
http://unionsong.com/muse/unionsong/u295.html
http://www.judysmall.net/MDW.html
http://mysongbook.de/msb/songs/m/mothersd.html ]

Hear Mothers, Daughters, Wives sung by Judy Small.