When Our Women Go Crazy

Written 1995

Tab DADGAD, capo 5

WOWGoCrazy

when our women go crazy, they start to get anxious
afraid there won’t be enough meat in the house
they walk around asking, “but how will we eat? who will cook?
who will bake bread? will there be enough?”
mother to daughter, it’s always the same questions,
“should I run to the store?”
the sisters and aunts recognize symptoms across generations
they’ve seen it before
+++ she thinks there’s no food, just like Mom did
+++ before they sent her off to that place
+++ she thinks if she goes, the men’ll eat right out of
+++ tin cans and saucepans, and never use plates..

when our women are sane they can tomatoes
and simmer big pots of soup for the freezer
they find satisfaction arranging the spice tins
on cupboard shelves lined with clean white paper
seal the leftovers under tight lids
and only throw them away when they rot
freezer and Frigidaire perfectly full
which is also the case when our women go crazy..
+++ she thinks there’s no food, just like Mom did
+++ before they sent her off to that place
+++ she thinks if she goes, the men’ll eat right out of
+++ tin cans and saucepans, and never use plates…

Lyric based on “When Our Women Go Crazy” from Julia Kasdorf’s Sleeping Preacher,
published by University of Pittsburgh Press, ©1992, all rights reserved.
Reproduced by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press.

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