Grandma's name was Maybellene But everybody called her Queenie She raised 3 boys all by herself So she smoked just like a chimney She rolled her own and she laughed too loud Drove a bright red station wagon She cussed like a sailor so she was pretty much The coolest thing I could imagine She played black music on the radio Kind of slow danced while she was sweeping Sometimes when the daylight turned I'd catch her gently weeping She said sometimes you just have to cry That's the price you pay for a better life Oh, and this old world gets hard When you're carrying an orphan's heart She lived alone for 15 years One day she just got tired of the silence So 2 weeks later she packed it up And moved in right beside us Cause Mama and Daddy both worked so much And if there was trouble I could find it Now they had an extra pair of eyes Tell you the truth I didn't mind it She'd buy me baseball cards And let me stay up late Taught me every dirty joke I ever told you She'd let me play guitar and turn it up too loud Aw man, I loved her more than Coca Cola So I just had to sit and cry I held her hand and said my last goodbye Oh, and this old world gets hard When you're carrying an orphan's heart Carrying an orphan's heart