Iris DeMent - Quality Time lyrics

She's got a phone in one hand, a hairbrush in the other And she says, "Life's too short to stay home and be a mother" She says she can have it all 'cause that's The New Deal So God give her a hand, 'cause she needs one for the wheel When he gets home from work, it's well after seven But he drives a nice car so he thinks he's in Heaven And his kids hardly know him but they've all got nice clothes And in just a few hours more overtime he can pay-off that boat And they've got nice big houses, and they've got nice big cars And it looks, from the outside, like they're really going far But there's trouble in the engine and we're junkyard-bound If some moms and some dads don't start hanging around When they get around to dinner they're damn near half-dead So they drive through McDonald's and put the kids off to bed But they're upwardly mobile and everything is fine 'cause when they do get together, it's quality time And they've got nice big houses, and they've got nice big cars And it looks, from the outside, like they're really going far But there's trouble in the engine and we're junkyard-bound If some moms and some dads don't start hanging around They want stickers on the music, they want the laws turned around They want the cops to run Beavis and bu*thead outta town They say they care about their children, but it's just too damn hard To turn off that TV or sell off that car And they've got nice big houses, and they've got nice big cars And it looks, from the outside, like they're really going far But there's trouble in the engine and we're junkyard-bound If some moms and some dads don't start hanging around There's a whole lot of people who can't make ends meet And on the wages that they're earning, I know a family can't eat But I'm talking 'bout people who would sell their kid's soul To keep up with the Jones', no matter the toll And they've got nice big houses, and they've got nice big cars And it looks, from the outside, like they're really going far But there's trouble in the engine and we're junkyard-bound If some moms and some dads don't start hanging around When they do get together, it's quality time