Strawberry Blonde

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
Seemed like all was well in the 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