"Mother Tongue" lyrics

I wish I could shoot the shit with my grandmother
Tell her about the details of my day
She'd get a taste of my dark sense of humor
But the language she knows is from far far away

I try to express what I feel but I get nervous
My clumsy vocabulary never quite lands
The little I know only scratches the surface
Eventually we chuckle to signal the things that we can't

Ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha haaah

I guess you could say it's an unrequited love
Born in the USA, born to chase my mother tongue

If I could reply to her heart wrenching question
Why I'm not with that guy she so adores
I'd say I could feel my heart wasn't invested
We gave it our best yet we each needed more

But alas I cannot so I shrug and I hug her
Hoping my touch will show that I'm okay
Our sighs fill the air as the quietness hovers
We laugh loud to signal the things that we can't relay

Ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha haaah

I guess you could say it's an unrequited love
Born in the USA, don't have much more I can say
Other than

Ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha haaah

I think of the details I long to uncover
Like what makes her tick and what gives her release?
And what were some memories of raising my mother?
When mom was a child did she fight back like me?

Ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha
What an unrequited love
Ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha
Born to chase my mother tongue