Around The World
Christine Ebersole Lyrics

It's my mother's house, in my mother's name
The house I currently live in belongs to my mother and is registered in her name.

And you can't beat Mother at Mother's game
My mother is very good at getting her way and I cannot win against her.

'Cause she likes the people who I don't like
My mother associates with people that I do not like or get along with.

And if I don't like it, it's take a hike
If I do not like the people my mother associates with, I am told to leave the house and find somewhere else to live.

Which is Mother's way of reminding me
This is how my mother reminds me that as long as I live off her, I cannot be free.

When you live off Mother, you can't be free
As long as I continue to depend on my mother for financial support, I cannot be truly independent or free.

And I think that Mother is very mean
I believe that my mother can be cruel or harsh at times.

And this latest thing with this wash machine
I am unhappy with my mother's recent purchase of a washing machine.

And what Jerry brought, don't be too surprised
I am warning you not to be surprised by anything Jerry, my mother's friend, might bring or do.

If the guy moves in and I'm pulverized
If Jerry were to move in, I believe that he would bring chaos and trouble into my life.

'Cause I'll be damned if I'm gonna waste my time
I refuse to spend my time and energy doing something as mundane as washing clothes in a machine.

Washing clothes in a goddamn machine!
I find the idea of washing clothes in a machine to be infuriating and degrading.

I feel very strongly about mementos.
I attach great sentimental value to objects of personal significance.

Memorabilia, I guess you call it.
These objects, I suppose, are considered memorabilia or keepsakes.

Around the world is what I call
I refer to my collection of keepsakes as 'around the world.'

My wall of special things
I have a wall where I display my most prized possessions.

Around the world with rose bouquets
I have dry rose bouquets from various places around the world among my collection.

I dry and tie those strings
I take care to preserve and secure the dry rose petals by tying them with strings.

A silver mask from a masquerade
One of my most treasured keepsakes is a silver mask that I acquired from a masquerade.

Around and round, I twirled
I recall twirling while I wore the silver mask and it holds a special memory for me.

You tack them up, so you can twirl
I display my keepsakes on my wall so that I can look at them and reminisce.

It's my mother's house, with my mother's friends
My mother's house is frequently filled with her friends and acquaintances.

And with Jerry coming, it never ends
Jerry is a frequent visitor to my mother's house and his presence can be exhausting.

It's the same old story, as George Gould Strong
My situation is not unlike that of George Gould Strong who also struggled with living in his mother's house.

Not in twenty years did we get along
My relationship with my mother has been strained for over twenty years and we have never been able to get along.

Though I do feel bad for the way he died-
I have sympathy for George Gould Strong's death and the circumstances surrounding it.

In a two-bit flea bag, a suicide
George Gould Strong committed suicide in a cheap motel room.

It was Mother's money, the Bouviers'
The money my mother spends originally belonged to the Bouvier family.

And if Mother spends it in crazy ways
If my mother uses the money in unreasonable or foolish ways, I have no say or control over it.

No one else took care of her, only me
I am the only one who has taken care of my mother, even if it has been a burden on me.

She was taken care of, not sexually
I have only taken care of my mother in a familial or platonic sense, and not in a sexual manner.

And if you infer that they were using her
If you suggest that my mother's friends were using her for their own gain, I will become angry.

I will shove you under the goddamn bed!
I will react violently and aggressively if you make such an accusation.

Around the world, with stones and shells
I have collected small stones and shells from various locations around the world.

The nicest one I lost
Unfortunately, the nicest stone or shell I collected has been misplaced or lost.

Around the world, without a boat
I have traveled around the world, but not by boat.

I'm just a cold from frost
I have caught a cold due to the cold weather and climate.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
I am reminded of the Robert Frost poem, 'The Road Not Taken'.

A lovely crossing all around the world,
I have crossed many borders and traveled to different countries.

The world around the attic walls
My collection of keepsakes represents a world that I have traveled and experienced, all displayed on my attic walls.

Around the world, there isn't room
I cannot keep every object or souvenir from my travels around the world as there isn't enough space.

For every special thing
I have to be selective and choose only the most special or meaningful objects to keep.

Around the world, you choose a few
Out of all my travels, I choose a select few objects to keep and cherish.

To pick the music sing
I choose these objects carefully, as each one represents a story or memory that I can relive through them.

A bird-cage I planned to have,
I had plans to acquire and display a bird-cage in my collection.

I'll get to that, someday
I have not yet obtained the bird-cage I was hoping to display, but I hope to do so in the future.

A bird-cage for a bird who flew away
The bird-cage represents a memory of a bird that has since flown away or left my life.

Around the world...
Overall, my collection of keepsakes symbolizes my travels and life experiences, all displayed 'around the world' on my attic walls.