Childish Things
James McMurtry Lyrics

Aunt Clara kept her bible right next to the phone
Aunt Clara always had her bible with her and would use it to quote scripture during conversations

In case she needed a quote while she talked to someone
She always had it at the ready just in case it was needed during a conversation

In my memory she smiles while the blessings said
In memory, her smiling face is associated with the way she spoke about blessings or prayed for them

And visions of freeze tag dance in my head
The memory of her still makes the writer think of fun childhood games like freeze tag

She says I'll grow up big if I eat all my roast
Aunt Clara had advice about growing up, including the importance of eating a nutritious meal like roast beef

That I'll still believe in heaven but I won't believe in ghosts anymore
Aunt Clara instilled a certain set of beliefs that included the continuation of belief in heaven but not in ghosts

Every other weekend, age of thirteen
At the age of 13, the writer spent every other weekend doing something

With my fishing pole and my feelings string
The writer spent the weekends fishing, perhaps to escape or introspect about feelings

Riding back home on the Trailways bus
After the weekends were over, the writer would ride back home on the Trailways bus

I looked out the window till I saw too much
The writer would look outside the bus window until they saw something they didn't want to see

And I called my parents by their own first names
At that point, the writer stopped seeing their parents as just 'Mom' and 'Dad,' instead calling them by their first names

I played in the alley but I didn't play the game anymore
Even though the writer still played in the alleyway, they had given up playing the game that other kids played

The wolves howl all night long
Despite growing up, there are still things that don't go away, like the sound of wolves howling at night

They won't stop and they won't go home
The wolves seem to be persistently present, refusing to stop howling and go away

Probably it'll be alright
The writer is not sure if they will be okay or not in the presence of these wolves

If I keep it all locked up tight
The writer's strategy for dealing with this is to keep everything locked up tight

And wait till daylight comes
The writer is waiting for the safety of daylight

Now my boy goes like a house on fire
The writer has a child who is always full of energy

He'll never burn out and he'll never retire
The writer's child seems like they will never run out of energy and never give up

And I remember when I used to think like that
The writer used to have that same kind of energy and drive in their youth

When I was young and the world was flat
When the writer was young, the world seemed like it had clarity and simplicity

But I'm forty some years old now and man I don't care
Now that the writer is older, they don't have the same energy or drive and they are content with that

All I won't now is just a comfortable chair
What the writer wants now is just a comfortable place to sit and relax

And to sell all my stock and live on the coast
The writer wants to sell off their assets and go live by the coast

I don't believe in heaven but I still believe in ghosts
Despite giving up certain beliefs, the writer still maintains belief in ghosts