You climb six lonely sets of stairs to your apartment
after another graveyard shift in the cold dull light of morning.
You walked in just in time to catch her as she's leaving
but the schedules and the conflicts kept the roof over our heads.
And you said you were strong and naive and 
If you were scared, well, I would understand.
I don't think I would have had the guts to handle it. 

All we had were hand-me-downs. 
And all we had was good will
And you always said it would get better,
"When you're young and you're poor, they hang on your failures." 
And you always said it would get better.

I'm sick of seeing ghosts. I won't be here
forever. 

We bought our first house at the advent of the 90s
Cape Cod on a busy street that we swore we'd fix eventually.
Winter of '93, we got by with kerosene
heater in the living room we huddled around shivering and me
trying to get to sleep. My clothes will smell of smoke for weeks.
Just trying to get to sleep. My mother wore a sundress on

All we had were hand-me-downs. 
All we had was good will
And you always said it would get better,
"When you're young and you're poor, they hang on your failures."
And you always said it would get better,
But I'm sick of seeing ghosts. I won't be here forever. 

My mother wore a sundress on the day that she got married.
They held the wedding in a backyard near the city.
I was just one then. I would never remember it
but I heard the voices and implications
telling me who I could never be.

All we had were hand-me-downs. 
And all we had was good will
All we had were hand-me-downs. 
All we had was good will
And you always said it would get better,
"When you're young and you're poor, they hang on your failures." 
And you always said it would get better.