Atmosphere - Mother’s Day lyrics

She lost one to pneumonia
Gave the other to prison
And now she spends mother's day
Sitting in her kitchen
Looking at the pictures of
Her past felt surreal
She had a couple of people
Some friends that helped her heal
But days like today
She doesn't want to be a bother
And as far as she's concerned
Them boys didn't have a father
Nuh uh, she had to teach 'em the ways
Teach 'em how to behave
Be brave and even how to shave

Some days it makes her feel like a soldier
And other times it makes her
Feel like a failure
Why did the stronger one die from a cold
Huh?
Why did the smarter one end up in jail? Nah
She gave them boys everything that she could
Two full-time jobs to keep 'em
In a good neighborhood
They understood how to love and how to live
Now she doesn't understand how it
Comes down to this

Maybe she should go work in her yard
And take her mind off the past and
Try to let the days start
But she's waiting on one
Of those annual calls
While she's looking at the photos
On her hallway walls

His big sibling died and mom's by herself
And now he spends every day
Inside of that cell
Looking at the photos of his
Past makes him crash
So he never takes 'em out
That folder under his mattress
Days like today he doesn't
Think about what happened, no
Still gotta call mommy, wish her a happy one
Uh huh, mom, if only she'd had been around
Maybe big brother would still be living now

Some days it makes him feel like a traitor
And other times it makes him
Feel like a martyr
Seems like some displacement of anger
Seems like he blames her more than his father
She was gone all the time at work
Never around to play the part of
The police or the nurse
She understood how things fall apart
So why'd she let the nest
Hit the ground this hard?

Well, maybe he should go walk in the yard
And take his mind off the past and
Try to let the days start
'Cause it's so difficult to
Admit it's his fault
When he's looking at the faces
In his hallway walls