The bitterest seed
We all were told that we would succeed,
We would couple up, get a job and breed
Well you treat your kid like a common brute
They say the bitterest plant grows the sweetest fruit
They learned it all from the vineyard site
Make them starve for water, starve for light
You nurture lack till it becomes acute
They say the bitterest plant grows the sweetest fruit
And the boys, and the boys wear ties,
And the girls, and the girls wear bows,
You can hear, you can hear them cry
When the north, when the north wind blows
You wish for change in the well or shrine
But the grape don’t fall far from the vine
You work them down till they’re deaf and mute
You know the bitterest plant grows the sweetest fruit
So they run away with a crippled lilt
But you spare yourself from shock or guilt
You know your kids were born into good repute
And the bitterest plant grows the sweetest fruit
And they live their life by the measured mile
But the heart inside is volatile
When you motivate with a steel toe boot
You know the bitterest plant grows the sweetest fruit
Now you fire your dreams into your kids
You may think it’s fine but I don’t think it is
You’ve got expensive guns to kill the crows
You can hear them cry when the north wind blows
And the bitterest seed grows the bitterest root
Grows the bitterest bud grows the bitterest fruit
And the bitterest seed grows the bitterest chute
Grows the bitterest branch grows the bitterest, bitterest, grows the bitterest fruit