Kiss the Babies

(Verse 1)

Ninety-four years old, and his skin’s turned to paper,

Dominic sits where the afternoon fades.

On an 84th Street stoop, in the heart of the borough,

Under the brick and the rusted fire escapes.

Verse 2

His Jamaican caretaker reads novels by his lawn chair,

While a blanket keeps him away from the chill in the air;

He’s watching the girls and the way that they’re walking,

With a century of life tucked away in his kind stare.

(Chorus)

“Kiss the babies,” they told him, “always go to Mass,"

Find a good girl to marry before the summer days pass.”

And he holds strong to the lessons his father once gave:

Be kind to the ladies, be strong, and be brave.

Kiss the babies

(Verse 3)

The neighborhood ladies line up their folding chairs,

Singing a chorus of gossip that tires his mind.

Life is too short for the weight of their bitterness,

He’s looking for something more gentle and kind.

Verse 4

The girls rush on by with their expensive espressos,

They'll never know the soul of a dark, bitter bean;

Rushing to boyfriends with bags full of shopping,

Like every young beauty that he’s ever seen.

Chorus

Kiss the babies, they told him, always go to Mass,

Find a good girl to marry before the summer days pass.

And He holds strong to the lessons his father once gave:

Be kind to the ladies, be strong, and be brave.

Kiss the babies

(Verse 5)

Then here comes the single mother who lives in 2C,

With two little boys she smells like a sacred prayer.

He wonders why a woman like that walks alone,

A good man would be standing right with her there.

Verse 6

She stops by the stoop and she touches his hand,

And the shame of his weakness starts burning his skin;

’Cause a gentleman stands when a lady is present,

No matter how heavy the years have been to him.

(Bridge)

He fights for his footing, he reaches for her groceries,

The caretaker grips him to keep him upright.

A tripod of dignity moving through the lobby,

Guarding his pride in the late-day light.

He’s thirty-five now, he can feel it returning,

The weight of the paper bags light in his grip;

Breathes in her perfume, a memory burning,

A smile on his face and grace on his lip.

(Outro)

In his dreams he’s bringing her home to Sunday dinner,

Loving the boys he would teach how to be proper men.

In a world where he’s young and he feels relevant,

He’s walking her back down the hallway again.

(Chorus)

Kiss the babies, they told him, always go to Mass,

Find a good girl to marry before the summer days pass.”

And He holds strong to the lessons his father once gave:

Be kind to the ladies, be strong, and be brave

Kiss the babies

Kiss the babies

Kiss the babies