Mothers Daughters Wives

The first time it was fathers, the last time it was sons And in between your husbands marched away with drums and guns But you never thought to question you just went on with your lives 'Cause all they'd taught you who to be was mothers, daughters, wives verse 1 You barely just remember the tears your mother shed As she sat and read the paper through the lists and lists of dead And the gold frame held the photograph your mother kissed each night And the door frame held the shocked and silent stranger from the fight verse 2 And twenty-one years later you had children of your own The trumpet sounded once again and the soldier boys were gone And you made their guns and drove their trucks and you tended to their wounds At night you kissed their photographs and prayed for safe returns The first time it was fathers, the last time it was sons And in between your husbands marched away with drums and guns But you never thought to question you just went on with your lives 'Cause all they'd taught you who to be was mothers, daughters, wives verse 3 And when it was all over you had to learn again To be just wives and mothers though you'd done the work of men So you worked to help the needy and you never trod on toes And the photo on the mantelpiece struck a happy family pose verse 4 But your daughters grew to women and your little boys to men And you wished that you were dreaming when the call-up came again But you proudly smiled and held your tears as they proudly waved good bye But the photos on the mantelpieces it always made you cry The first time it was fathers, the last time it was sons And in between your husbands marched away with drums and guns But you never thought to question you just went on with your lives 'Cause all they'd taught you who to be was mothers, daughters, wives Verse 5 And now your growing older and in time the photos fade In widowhood you sit back and reflect on the parade And the passing of your memories as your daughters change their lives Seeing more to their existences than just mothers, daughters, wives The first time it was fathers, the last time it was sons And in between your husbands marched away with drums and guns But you never thought to question you just went on with your lives 'Cause all they'd taught you who to be was mothers, daughters, wives And you never thought to question you just went on with your lives 'Cause all they'd taught you who to be was mothers, daughters, wives