Story Behind The Song

I saw a picture in Newsweek Magazine of a starving African mother trying to breastfeed a child. I could not get the woman's face out of my mind. I went back to the magazine days later and cut out the picture. I wrote this song imagining it being sung by another of her children, perhaps a small son of 10 or 11.

Song Description

A desperate child calls out for help as he watches his mother struggle to keep the family alive. He wonders why things are what they are. He wonders why his family is so hungry, why he has no toys, no puppy to hold, why they are all alone and no one is coming to help.

Lyrics

I AM A GOOD CHILD

You do not know me, but please won?t you answer my call?
I would not even ask, but there?s no one to turn to at all.

Mamma has taught me to cradle the babies,
As they cry themselves to sleep with nothing there to eat.

I know you?re out there
I know that help is on the way
Somebody told me you?re coming and I pray
I watch my momma she?s cryin? in pain.
Giving all the food away to feed her babies.

Chorus:
Where are the birds to sing for me?
Where is the puppy I should be holding?
Never in my life have I seen these things
And I am a good, good child.

Where are the games I?m supposed to play?
Where are the friends with the time to play a while.
No where I can go for a holiday
And I am a good, good child.

Background sung in Swahili:
Mi ni metutu sana, hey. Tafadhali msaada mtoto
(I am a good child, please listen.)
Mimi ni mzuri sana, hey. Tafadhali msaada mtoto
(I am a good child, please listen to me.)

Playlist Creator	Playlist Name	Date Added
Ionut Mirel Udrea	My Top Songs	3/5/2020