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Maudie's Lament

from You Want to Know About Me by Nikole Potulsky

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Note to Self
Maudie’s Lament
By Nikole Potulsky

You were driving from your old house in Oxford, the house way out on the edge of Oakland county, past the old cemetery on the gravel road, heading to your uncle’s place in Clarkston. It was the beginning of autumn, the windows were down and you started tapping on the steering wheel. The smell of pine trees and the great lakes filled the air and you turned off the radio and started humming a tune that turned into words. “Mama had me on a traveling’ train, we never slowed down, I never complained.” In your mind’s eye you thought of your mother, her many husbands and the many lives you led growing up moving from town to town. “I just waved goodbye. Changed my name and learned all the rules of the game.”

That was 2003, before voice memos and iphones, there was no recording device at hand - so as you added new lines, you sang the entire song all the way through so you wouldn’t forget it.

Then the story shifted from you and your mom on the road, to the stories your mom told you about her grandmother, Maudie. Maudie owned one the first model t’s, bought it with her own money before she was married. Maudie married a handsome gambling man who lost everything they owned. Maudie who loved him so much, she took him back again and again until she’d had enough.

You know what it’s like to have had enough.
Love,
Nikole

This is the first essay in a series of Notes to Self that chronicle the origins of the songs on my album “You Want to Know About Me”.

lyrics

Maudie’s Lament
©Nikole Potulsky


Mama had me on a traveling train
We never slowed down
I never complained
I just waved goodbye, changed my name, and learned all the rules of the game

Chorus
Don't you cry
I can't always be strong
I ain't made out of steel, I'm made out of bone
and I break, I break, I break

Verse 2
I saw you with that woman on Saturday night
I didn't get jealous
She wasn't my type
But I'm sick to death of all your lies, I was born in the evening but it wasn't last night

Chorus
Don't you cry
I can't always be strong
I ain't made out of steel, I'm made out of bone
and I break, I break, I break

Verse 3
He said I want a strong woman who can cook and clean
Who is one part sweet and ten parts mean
Love me tender and never leave, I hope you don't think that woman was me

Chorus
Don't you cry
I can't always be strong
I ain't made out of steel, I'm made out of bone
and I break, I break, I break


Bridge
Now you don't need to run around on me
I’ll cut you loose, go on be free
I ain't blind, I clearly see your lies


Verse 4
We're slowing down
We've run out of gas
I can see you thinking
You better think fast —cause I'm packing up your sorry ass, right now

Chorus
I won't cry, you ain't that strong
You ain't made out of steel, you're made out of bone
and you'll break you'll break you'll break
you'll break you'll break you'll break
you will break

credits

from You Want to Know About Me, released June 15, 2017

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Nikole Potulsky Portland, Oregon

Nikole stirs the the raw emotion of the blues, the call to action of folk, the storytelling of country music with the longing for salvation of gospel.  Her engaging storytelling style, compelling personal narratives, and powerful voice moves audiences deftly between quiet reflection to uproarious laughter. Nikole's sound has been compared to Lucinda Williams, John Prine, and Grace Potter. ... more

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