Newcomer Blues

When you’re brought in the world by parents who have no connection

You’ve got to figure life out on your own

A kid in LA with a grandma who doesn’t speak English

She looked after me when Daddy left Mama alone

I’m a traveler with the newcomer blues

We moved between homes as they gave Mama the news

Tenants with kids and pets are banned

Our fate was in our hands

One morning my teacher asked us to pledge allegiance

I was six and curious I raised my hand to ask

Why do we say justice for all when there isn’t

Ms. Adams had it, she threw me out of her class

I’m a traveler with the newcomer blues

Flags and cultures, I’m picking up clues

Love for country sure seems grand

My fate is in my hands

I’ve got two hands, two feet and two eyes

I can burst out into laughter or let out a sigh

I breathe air and I’ve got a heartbeat too

I’m made just like you

I’m made just like you

I was seven when Mama met a man from Sweden

We moved to Stockholm and Swedish was hard to learn

Kids called me a capitalist, teachers made fun of my English

My stepdad was mean, but I didn’t know where to return

I’m a traveler with the newcomer blues

Got stamps in my passport, a new home to lose

Common culture, it sure seems grand

My fate is in my hands

Mama announced that we’d go to her native Poland

She never explained as we packed up for the train

It rolled from Stockholm to Warsaw during the cold war

I got more impressions than I could ever contain

I’m a traveler with the newcomer blues

Cold war shops, people standing in queues

Mama’s got no answers at hand

My fate is in my hands

I’m a traveler with the newcomer blues

Got stamps in my passport that I didn’t get to choose

A life without drifting it sure seems grand

My fate is in my hands