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Sister and Sam

from Necessary Angels by Sara Hickman

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about

Every summer, my family would take road trips to visit our relatives in Arkansas, Georgia and Heflin, Alabama. My two great aunts---Sister and Sam---lived in Helfin. Everything I talk about in this song, well, I hope it takes you to the people and places I loved in the summer.

lyrics

Sister and Sam
Words & Music by Sara Hickman

1967
Sam is sixty-one
Sister’s in the kitchen
Making dinner for everyone

White frame house in Heflin
On a tree lined street
The buzz of gossip fills the air
As the neighbors line up in the summer heat

Sister’s skinny and she’s lost her hearing
Sam is short and so’s her sight
She wears the bottoms of bottles for glasses
And her voice is like dynamite

So, I try hard to remember
What we grow up to forget
And I have grown to love these women
And my summers near Birmingham

Pickin’ snap beans out in the garden
Bead of sweat droppin’ down your neck
There’s fried chicken and potatoes
Hot rolls and ripe tomatoes
Outside I hear those chickens peck

Evening’s calling for a country walk
Cicadas hummin’ the trees to sleep
Hand in hand my aunts and I are counting the stars
Reflecting off of our bare feet

So, I try hard to remember
What we grow up to forget
And I have grown to love these women
And my summers near Birmingham

And I used to think:
Did either kiss in the moonlight?
Or feel the hot flame of a hand on her breast?
Oh, maybe someday a child will wonder over me, too
As I am laid to rest

I open rusty trunks to find
Letters, and dolls, and photo frames
Yellowed faces but no names
It hurts to think this is my past
Lying here, scattered in my lap
And no memories can come to mind
When you’re sitting where the past has been left behind

So I try hard to remember
What we grow up to forget
And I have grown to love these memories
And my summers near Birmingham

credits

from Necessary Angels, released October 4, 1994
Acoustic guitar, finger taps---Sara
Second acoustic---Pierce Pettis
Cello---Danny Levin
Owl sounds---Chris Searles
Backing vocals---Mark Hallman and Sara

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all rights reserved

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about

Sara Hickman image

Sara Hickman Austin, Texas

Sara Hickman's career in music began at 7, winning first place in a school talent show. She's appeared twice on "The Tonight Show;" at Carnegie Hall; performed on tv, radio & at hundreds of festivals, theatres, clubs and house concerts around the world. 2010 Texas State Musician (between Willie Nelson & Lyle Lovett). She created 2 volumes of the Texas Musicians Coloring Book & has over 18 albums. ... more

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