Numbers Run
When my dad was put away
My aunt kicked us out
My momma wouldn't take it lying down
The men sitting at the bar
Puffing up their chest
Never treat her like a whore
She just took their bets
I started answering phones
When I was 8 years old
Took down the messages and did what I was told
Ten years later growing up
Ma is now the boss
I know all the secrets told
All the profit and loss
Some men are preachers
Some men are gangsters
Somewhere between them
Was my mother
Sun after the rain
We laugh away
I'm gonna go to school
College is paid
Better than any man
She made the numbers run
Kept her arms around us kids
Helped us overcome