My train of thought was broken by a sudden burst of laughter Something badly needed to brighten up the chores Seemed old Mrs. Bailey had accidentally fell In the water being used to scrub the floors Now Mrs. Bailey was the meanest matron at the home She believed in lots of work with little play And we laughed till we bent double Though we knew we'd get in trouble But trouble's all we had at evening shade Now evening shade was where they claim to teach you understanding To teach you love and keep you off the streets And all the kids that live here are said to be a problem Juvenile delinquents so to speak
But understanding isn't learned from punishment and anger An iron has no gentle touch and love ain't learned from hate The reason we were here is 'cause we had no one who cared But they cared even less at evening shade
Little Susan Bradley, one night had wet her bed Mrs. Bailey took the razor strap and beat her half to death And I knew that something must be done to put an end to this And so I started talking plans with the older kids
Plans were that Joe Johnson would steal the kerosene And I would get some matches when nobody seen Beckie Adams would make sure the kids were all outside Billy Watson would look out for the evil eye
Now Mrs. Bailey took a nap at three o'clock each day We knew that she'd be a'sleeping as the plans got underway Now that its all over and the sun is going down There's no evening shade 'cause we burned it to the ground
