(pamela brown, david roberts)

She looks at the clock, it’s a quarter past nine
She hears his car as he pulls in the drive
Dinner’s still waiting from hours before
She knows he’s been drinking when he walks through the door
In anger he strikes out and she starts to cry
How much more can she take, how much more can
She lie

And she fell down the stairs again
But it hasn’t happened since she don’t know when
Was it in spring when she packed up the kids, or
Maybe in winter with his job on the skids
Oh but just like before she’ll have to
Pretend that she fell down the stairs again

A short time ago, she started
A job, serving chicken fried steak and corn on the cob
She started out shy, but she ended up sure,
That a ticket to anywhere could be the cure
But he couldn’t handle her change for the better
She tried to leave him , but he wouldn’t let her
He says he’s sorry, he’d never mean it
He swears it won’t happen again but she’s so confused,
She wants to believe it she just wants this nightmare to end

And she fell down the stair again
But it hasn’t happened since she don’t know when
Was it in spring when she packed up the kids, or
Maybe in winter with his job on the skids
Oh but just like before she’ll have to pretend
That she fell down the stairs again