BIG FOUR POSTER BED
(Shel Silverstein)


Brenda Lee - 1974





It was just some boards of rough cut pine and a quilt of patchwork cotton
A place to lay your body down was that big four poster bed

Daddy built it out of pine two days before the weddin'
They say the neighbours cheered and hollered till his face got red
And Mama brought the feather pillows and some handmade beddin'
And they spent their weddin' night in that big four poster bed

That night they swore that like that bed their love would last forever
And they'd ask no more of life than the simple things they had
So they planned their future as they lay there close together
And later I was born there in that big four poster bed

It was just some boards of rough cut pine and a quilt of patchwork cotton
A place to lay your body down, a place to rest your head
A field of fluffy mountains for a little girl to hide in
A cloud for chasin' rainbows was that big four poster bed

I remember as a child wakin' up on winter mornings
The sound of laughin' voices and the smell of bakin' bread
And runni'g cross that coal wood floor, jumpin' in there with 'em
And, Lord, I felt so safe and warm in that big four poster bed

The day that Daddy died he whispered somethin' soft to Mama
To this day she's never told a soul the words he said
She just smiled through her tears and held his hand and nodded
And my Daddy looked so much at rest in that big four poster bed

It was just some boards of rough cut pine and a quilt of patchwork cotton
A place to lay your body down, a place to rest your head
A field of fluffy mountains for a little girl to hide in
A cloud for chasin' rainbows was that big four poster bed

Now time has dried up all the tears, here I stand a woman
Your arms reach out to touch my soul, your sweet words turn my head
Darlin' won't you tell me first this will be forever
Before you lead me up the stairs to that big four poster bed
'Cause only love has ever touched that big four poster bed

Yes, it was just some boards of rough cut pine and a quilt of patchwork cotton
A place to lay your body down, a place to rest your head
A field of fluffy mountains for a little girl to hide in
A cloud for chasin' rainbows was that big four poster bed






(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - July 2014)