She was not the girl next door
But the girl from around the corner
It was at the tail end of grade four
When she came to school one morning
And all eyes were upon her
As she took her seat
Her name was Amanda
With pretty eyes of green
And hair of blonde
Strawberry blonde
Springtime and dandelions
And summer around the corner
Was at the tail end of age nine
With a million dreams before her
She lived with her mother
In an old decrepit house
If there was trouble at home
She kept it to herself
All summer long
The strawberry blonde
And by her face there was no way to tell
It seemed like all was well, in her world
But the neighbours said her mother had lost her will
To gin and sleeping pills, it was no life for a little girl
Still I see her face framed in blue sky
At the top of a slide coming down
And when the sirens wailed her mother had failed to rise
All the neighbours stood outside as Amanda just stared at the ground
Time flies and years are piled
I'd forgotten all about her
When I saw her down the aisle
Of a streetcar with her daughter
Then I heard amanda say
As she got up
"Come on, Samantha, girl
This is our stop"
And they were gone
Two strawberry blondes