Pearl Jam Daughter/It's OK Lyrics

alone...listless...breakfast table in an otherwise empty room
young girl...violins...center of her own attention
mother reads aloud, child tries to understand it
tries to make her proud
the shades go down, it's in her head
painted room...can't deny there's something wrong...
don't call me daughter, not fit to
the picture kept will remind me
don't call me daughter, not fit to
the picture kept will remind me
don't call me...
she holds the hand that holds her down
she will...rise above...
don't call me daughter, not fit to
the picture kept will remind me
don't call me daughter, not fit to be
the picture kept will remind me
don't call me...
don't call me daughter, not fit to
the picture kept will remind me
don't call me daughter, not fit to be
the picture kept will remind me
don't call me...
the shades go down
the shades go down
the shades go, go, go...

it's okay, you don't have to run and hide away
it's okay, i love you anyway
it's okay, you don't have to run and hide away
it's okay...
this is my chance, this is my life
this is my hope in an alleyway
this is my choice, this is my voice
there may be no tomorrow, now
this is my plea, this is my need
this is my time for standing free
this is my staff, this is my day
and the world is never safe
it's okay, you know i love you anyway
it's okay, you don't have to run and hide away
it's okay, it's okay
it's okay...

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Eddie Vedder about "Daughter":

The child in that song obviously has a learning difficulty. And it's only in the last few years that they've actually been able to diagnose these learning disabilities that before were looked at as misbehavior, as just outright rebelliousness. But no one knew what it was. And these kids, because they seemed unable or reluctant to learn, they'd end up getting the s___ beaten outta them. The song ends, you know, with this idea of the shades going down-so that the neighbors can't see what happens next. What hurts about s___ like that is that it ends up defining peoples' lives. They have to live with that abuse for the rest of their lives. Good, creative people are just f___ing destroyed.