she was not the girl next door   but the girl from 'round the corner   it was at the tail end of grade four   when she came to school one morning   and all eyes were upon her as she took her seat   her name was Amanda with pretty eyes of green   and hair of blonde, strawberry blonde      springtime and dandelions   and summer 'round the corner   was at the tail end of age nine   with a million dreams before her   she lived with her mother in an old decrepit house   if there was trouble she kept it to herself   all summer long, the strawberry blonde      and by her face there was no way to tell   it seemed like all was well in her world   but the neighbours said    her mother had lost her will   to gin and sleeping pills   it was no life for a little girl      still I see her face framed in blue sky   at the top of a slide coming down   and when the sirens wailed    (her mother had failed to rise)   all the neighbours stood outside   as Amanda just stared at the ground      time flies and years are piled   I'd forgotten all about her   when I saw her down the aisle   of a streetcar with her daughter   then I heard Amanda say as she got up   "c'mon Samantha, girl, this is our stop"   and they were gone   two strawberry blondes