"Girl Who Could Sing" lyrics

I didn't know my daddy
I guess he was proud
The plot turns in coal mine Kentucky
Where he sleeps in the ground
Louisa kept secrets
I was bound to find out
He had a drawer full of newspaper clippings
About me they found

Before you left, I didn't quite get your last name
Did you hear the same lies that kept us away?
Two worlds apart, ten miles too far
Who I was to you is still a mystery to me
Was I ever really your daughter
Or just a girl who could sing?
A girl who could sing

Did my voice and my backbone
Both come from you?
Now the middleman's gone
All the answers died with her too
Did you ever buy a ticket?
Did you come to a show?
It will play in my mind for a lifetime
To never really know

Before you left, I didn't quite get your last name
Did you hear the same lies that kept us away?
Two worlds apart, ten miles too far
Who I was to you is still a mystery to me
Was I ever really your daughter
Or just a girl who could sing?
A girl who could sing

You're off the hook, but my heart's hollowed out
Like the spot where they found you watching me on TV
On your couch with your last breath, did you finally see
I was always ready for you to love me?
I can't help but feel mad at these words that I read
How can a headstone in Pine Hill know you better than me?
Better than me
Better than me
I was ready to find you
But you were ready to leave
The girl who could sing
Ooh

Before you left, I didn't quite get your last name
Did you hear the same lies that kept us away?
Two worlds apart, ten miles too far
Who I was to you is still a mystery to me
Was I ever really your daughter? Mm, mm

I didn't know my daddy
I guess he was proud
The plot turns in coal mine Kentucky
Where he sleeps in the ground