Southern Curls from Julie Williams by Julie Williams

Southern baby, bow-tied, big girl, wide-eyed, new white shoes
Mama put my coat on, kissed me
And sent me off to school
For my first day, at a new place
Daddy held my hand and walked me down the hallway
then he waved and said
“They’ll love you”

Not all southern girls are met with open doors
Some of us are looked down on before we’re even born
Curls are too tight, skin is too dark
To feel beautiful just as we are
I’m a southern girl
With the wrong kind of southern curls

Newly fifteen, lipstick sneaking, mama’s high heeled shoes
Off to my first school dance, will I get my first kiss too?
Was on cloud nine till I heard my
Biggest crush tell me I’d have better luck with my own kind
And I cried cause I knew

Not all southern girls are met with open doors
Some of us are looked down on before we’re even born
Curls are too tight, skin is too dark
To feel beautiful just as we are
I’m a southern girl
With the wrong kind of southern curls

Wish I could tell that bow-tied girl
That feels alone inside this world
That she’s gonna be okay, the times are changing
But the world still tries to pull me down
I’ve had to fight to love myself
Sometimes it feels like I can’t breathe
I fight so no one has to feel that anymore

23 in music city with dreams and high heeled boots
Singing for a crowd of blue eyes
Will they want me too?
But all those mean words that ruled my world
Don’t make me feel like less than anymore
Because I know that I glow and so do you

Not all southern girls are met with open doors
But all of us are beautiful the moment we are born
Curls aren’t too tight, skin ain’t too dark
We are beautiful just as we are
We are southern girls
With our own kind of southern curls
Our own kind of southern curls
Own kind of southern curls

• Americana
• Country
• folk
• folk pop
• soul country
• Nashville