Small Fred Annie
Annie's up at seven on a work day Brewing up a cup of peppermint tea Gathering her papers and lesson plans She grabs her keys Teaching arithmetic and Africa Geology and girl's basketball All the kids in her class Will tell you she's the best But she's heard other teachers in the hall saying CHORUS: "What are we going to do about Annie? Pretty girl like her shouldn't be alone If she took our advice, dressed up real nice She'd find a man to take her home." Mondays come with questions of couples Where and with whom did you go? Avoiding the personal pronoun She hopes it doesn't show Shopping with her lover in the city Two women holding hands don't get a stare If the kids at school knew, what would they do Would they hate her? Why should they care? Tell me CHORUS Never getting too close to a student Never letting out too much of her life Keeping her delights and disappointments Tucked out of sight Annie takes herself to the Christmas party The principal whispers with a smile "You're vivacious and bright, if you play your cards right There're some men here tonight worth your while" thinking CHORUS Work that you love is hard to come by The kids she could never bear to lose So she makes conversations out of silences And half-truths But at night by the fire with her lover She looks out at the wind-driven snow And imagines the day when she'll look in their faces And tell everybody she konws--she'll tell 'em LAST CHORUS: Don't you worry about Annie She don't lie awake and pine Got love to fill her heart, flowers growing in the garden Annie's doing just fine.
