Bring it on back to the young days when things wasn't so hard
playin kickball in the school yard
the year before kindergarten when memories started at the day care
all the little kids used to play there
we had no worries just hated nap time but fingerpaintin' and playin' tag was fine
and we would all run around except for this girl
she stayed in the corner, yeah her name was mary anne
she missed half of the school days scince the year began
never wore a shirt that showed more than her hands
she rockin' jeans & long sleeves in like 90 degrees
you know lil' kids they treat her like she got a disease
came in 1 day all her hair was gone
said her mamma cut it off cause she did something wrong
tears in her eyes when she finally said somethin
usually she would get scared and wouldn't say nothin

days that went by, she had to cry, wonder why did it happen to me
day after day, she slipped away, wonder why did it happen to me

elementary she got the seat next to me
lucky i wasnt mean like the rest could be
she treated like an outcast wonder how long she could outlast
bein alienated by the whole class
it was still touch and go with the whole school scenario
in for days out for weeks still scared to speak
i wonder if that one time she had tried to tell and the teacher shrugged her off like oh well
i wonder if that shut her down
maybe she had no one to turn to
maybe this little girl didnt know what to do
we had a project one week me and mary anne a team
so i invited her to my house for ice cream
she bangin on the door at the house invite her to sit on the couch
she looked me in the eyes
mary anne began to cry
i said what's wrong she said she wanted someone to tell her why

days that went by, she had to cry,
wonder why did it happen to me
day after day she slipped away, wonder why did it happen to me

after that incident she didnt really want to talk to me
i'd see her in the hall
call out but she wouldnt walk with me
junior high she got cover up caked up
you could see the bruises underneath the make - up
stories to make up people askin question now
she breakin down but still no confessions now
she walk around dazed out lost in another land spaced out
and as days go by she grows more distant
teachers barely aware of her existance
she in and out more out than in
and one day i'm in class
the ambulance pass screechin
down by the artroom off to the right in the bathroom
they found mary anne on the floor
a bottle next to her
said she took like 50 pills or more
and left a note that said she couldnt handle it no more

days that went by, she had to cry,
wonder why did it happen to me
day after day she slipped away, wonder why did it happen to me