Uploaded January 2013 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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"Merry Go Round" by Mary Gauthier
Album: Filth & Fire (2002)
marygauthier.com

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LYRICS
From the painful rays of daybreak ripping darkness out your eyes
To every kiss with bourbon breath your daddy didn’t hide, didn’t hide
From the crack of his backhand slap to your mama’s blue veined hands that held her rosary desperately cause she didn’t understand
From the brokenhearted playground in the lonely afternoon
To the violence of little boys and the crying in your bedroom

Till the wind blows right through you and rain don’t get you wet
Till your lips move constantly but you ain’t said nothing yet
Till you ride that horse in circles going up and coming down
Round and round, it’s a merry go round

From the bitter tears of helplessness falling from your grandma’s face as they strap you to the stretcher while she quickly packs your suitcase
From the money that you stole from her on the day she died
To the long lines at the clinic waiting for a days supply, a days supply

Till the wind blows right through you and rain don’t get you wet
Till your lips move constantly but you ain’t said nothing yet
Till you ride that horse in circles going up and coming down
Round and round, it’s a merry go round

From the phone booth on the freeway when there’s no one left to call
To the porcelain God you pray to in the public restroom stall
From the milky white of heroin as it bubbles and it sooths
To the dirty sheets you lie on with nothing left to loose