[Cmerk]

Hi. My first post here. I wrote this song from experiences my wife and I have in our neighborhood. We work with a lot of neglected kids whose parents or guardians don't give adequate love and care. Though the song presents a fictional scenario (a 911 call) and a fictional child (Adelaide), the situations in the song are all too real for children all around us. I'm hoping to use this song in live performances to raise awareness of child neglect and abuse.

https://soundcloud.com/chrisanddebbie-merkling/grownup

GROWNUP
911, what’s your emergnecy?
Right at first no one answered me
Then a small voice came on the line and said
“I need a grownup.”
What’s your name?
She said “Adelaide”
Are you hurt?
She said “I’m afraid.”
“Mama’s passed out, and daddy’s gone again
I need a grownup

There’s no food in the fridge and and I’m five years old
And the baby’s crying
Lying there in his crib and the house is cold
And I don’t know what to do

CHORUS
I need someone who knows
How to help me with my clothes
Make my lunch, braid my hair
Show me that they care
Yes there’s big people here
All night long drinking beer
There all passed out in the yard and on the floor
But I need a grownup

Then I asked her for a street address
She tried to read it, she did her best
From some junk mail, but she sobbed and said
“I need a grownup”

Is your momma there? Can you see her breath?
Just stay on the phone, I promise I won’t leave
We’ll be right there, so you just be strong
Like a grownup

Then she said “Sunday school teacher told me
About a friend who never leaves
Maybe there is a prayer I could pray to Him.”
Then she said “Jesus, help me please….”

CHORUS
I need someone who knows
How to help me with my clothes
Make my lunch, braid my hair
Show me that they care
Yes there’s big people here
All night long drinking beer
There all passed out in the yard and on the floor
But I need a grownup

Honey, help is one its way
You’ve been really, really brave
But I need you to hold on a little longer
But before she could reply
Her cell phone signal died
So I prayed “Dear Lord, please make her stronger.”

CHORUS
She needs someone who knows
How to help her with her clothes
And to  help her realize
That she’s precious and she’s prized
May the big people there learn to love and learn to care
For there precious daughters and their sons
The unprotected, neglected ones.
They need a grownup

How can they grow up
Without a grownup?

[Wolfini]

Hello Cmerk and welcome to the forum!

This is a great, very moving first entry. Interesting story telling, and beautiful melodies in well thought out arrangement and production. You took this difficult topic and created a very strong song from it, impressive. I see this in the tradtion of "in the ghetto" and "my name is luca" - and it really lives up to that comparison.

Bye Wolfi

[CaliaMoko]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

This is one of my favorite kinds of songs--meaningful and inspirational in a realistic way. Your lyric tells the story very well and the treatment adds to the effect well. I have a few little nits with the way the rhythm of the lyric and the rhythm of the melodic phrases don't quite match in some places, but the overall effect is excellent.

This is a wonderful first post. I look forward to hearing more from you!

Vicki

[exfairy]

This such a beautiful song - I genuinely cried. It's lyrically so gorgeous and the music fits it so perfectly. It reminds me a lot of Skin by Rascal Flatts. I really hope this song can change some lives out there. It's a message that needs to be heard. <3

[Mikey]

Welcome, and Wow!, what a great song, very well played and performed, and the emotion was coming through in spades, the characters were brought to life, and the listener is made to really care about them.

If the rest of your songs are as good as this, I can't wait to hear more.

Mikey

[Skub]

Yo Cmerk and welcome to the forum.

You have undertaken a very difficult line of work,I doubt I could detach myself enough to be of any practical use. Kudos to you and your wife.

It's a heartbreaker of a song and it certainly will be effective in raising awareness in an effert to break the cycle of hurt passed on each generation.

It's a lovely piece which successfully walks that razor edge between emotive and maudlin. A difficult enough act to pull off.

Best wishes.