They don't know me but they try
They lie awake and wonder
Why I am the way I am and
I don't wanna take the money
For the lessons on the piano
And I don't wanna leave 'em
I don't wanna let them go
But I can't let them know

They've been kind and they still are
Wanna see me go real far
With what I wanna do
But I can't tell 'em what I really wanna do
And it kinda makes 'em crazy
And it makes me crazy too
I guess that they're a lot like me

Now, my father is a good man
He's a strong man and a kind man
And he always tells me what to do about my car
And, daddy, when I really need you
There you are

And my mother's kinda sentimental
Tells me not to be so temperamental
'Cause things aren't quite as serious
As I always think they are

But they forget I'm getting older
And the world is so much colder
Than it ever was at home

And like my father needs my mother
And my mother needs my dad
I am needing something now
Something that they never had

And I don't wanna take the money
For the lessons on the piano
And I don't wanna leave 'em
I don't wanna let them go
But I can't let them know
I just can't let them know