i was the forest
you shouted your fears into
was the canvas
you painted your pain onto 
and i tolerated
everything that you put me through
'cause i trusted you
that is what children do 

i was naive
so of course i believed
that that was the way
things were supposed to be
little could i foresee
what it would do to me
to try and be
the mother you needed me to be 

i was the shoulder 
you needed to cry on
was the boulder
you needed to lean on
and i carried 
all the weight that you put on me
and i learned to be
the mother you needed me to be
the mother you needed me to be 

i'm not a child anymore
so i walked out the door
to finally be the child 
that i couldn't before
all the weight blocked my wings
that i needed to sore

but you couldn't be
you just couldn't be
i know you couldn't be
the mother i needed you to be 
the mother i needed you to be