And up It Went

And up It Went (Verse 1) Sun beats down on the Ocean View pier Concrete hot beneath my brand new sneakers Just bought a soda, cherry-red and sweet The world felt like a pop song, upbeat and complete My uniform’s a pleated, navy-blue disguise Just another Tuesday underneath the skies I’m watching seagulls, feeling kinda free Didn’t see the gust that was coming right for me. (Pre-Chorus) A whisper at my knees, a sudden, lifting chill A memory of playground taunts, a sudden, silent still Oh no, not again, not here, please no— A frantic grab for fabric, a desperate, inner blow. But the wind it just giggled, a mischievous, low sigh And caught the navy pleats, and sent them flying high. (Chorus) And up it went, a sail against the blue A flash of silk, a secret on full view My beige panties with the little ducks in a row For all the world (and him, oh no!) to know Time stretched out like taffy, sweet and slow and cruel A million eyes upon me, breaking every rule A silent scream, a blush that burned so deep A promise that this memory I’d forever keep. (Verse 2) I spun a clumsy pirouette, a fight I couldn’t win Pressing down with both my hands, holding on my skin The more I fought, the more it danced, a rebellious, cotton tide Nowhere left, and no way, for my dignity to hide I thought of him, yeah, him, standing by the Ferris wheel Would he even notice? Would this moment feel surreal? A cartoon nightmare, playing out in real-time bliss The final, gusty victory, a soft, departing hiss. (Pre-Chorus) A whisper at my knees, a sudden, lifting chill A memory of playground taunts, a sudden, silent still Oh no, not again, not here, please no— A frantic grab for fabric, a desperate, inner blow. But the wind it just giggled, a mischievous, low sigh And caught the navy pleats, and sent them flying high. (Chorus) And off it went, a kite against the blue A final flash of silk, the whole embarrassing view My beige panties with the little ducks in a row For all the world (and him, he saw!) to know Time stretched out like taffy, sweet and slow and cruel A million eyes upon me, breaking every rule A silent scream, a blush that burned so deep A promise that this memory I’d forever keep. (Bridge) There it went, my navy pleats, snagged on a rusty nail A flag of my surrender, a truly epic fail Frozen solid, statue-still, heart beating like a drum Do I run? Do I cry? Where do I go from? And then a voice, “Hey, need a hand?” and oh, the cosmic joke It’s him, of course it’s him, my cheeks are gonna smoke I hugged my knees, whispered a “yes,” so small and overcome The most embarrassing rescue, ever, from the one I’d wanna run from. (Verse 3) He got it back, I muttered thanks, couldn't meet his eye Tied the skirt tight around my waist, wanted to just die But then he laughed, a soft, kind sound, and said, “I like your ducks.” And something in the way he smiled, changed my stupid luck. Yeah, I still wear the pleated skirt when the breezes start to play I don’t wear shorts underneath, I’m not living life that way ‘Cause sometimes grace is overrated, sometimes you lose the fight And your silk beige secret becomes a funny, kind of bright… A funny, kind of bright… A funny, kind of bright light. (Pre-Chorus) A whisper at my knees, a sudden, lifting chill A memory of playground taunts, a sudden, silent still Oh no, not again, not here, please no— A frantic grab for fabric, a desperate, inner blow. But the wind it just giggled, a mischievous, low sigh And caught the navy pleats, and sent them flying high. (Chorus) And up it went, a sail against the blue A flash of silk, a secret on full view My beige panties with the little ducks in a row For all the world (and him, oh no!) to know Time stretched out like taffy, sweet and slow and cruel A million eyes upon me, breaking every rule A silent scream, a blush that burned so deep A promise that this memory I’d forever keep. And off it went, a kite against the blue A final flash of silk, the whole embarrassing view My beige panties with the little ducks in a row For all the world (and him, he saw!) to know Time stretched out like taffy, sweet and slow and cruel A million eyes upon me, breaking every rule A silent scream, a blush that burned so deep A promise that this memory I’d forever keep.