my sister’s little boy came in the kitchen one evening
while she was fixing supper
and he handed her a piece paper he had been writing on
and after wiping her hands on an apron
she took it in her hands and read it
and this is what it said
for mowing the yard five dollars
and for making up my own bed this week one dollar
for going to the store fifty cents
and playing with little brother while you went shopping twenty five cents
taking out the trash one dollar
and for getting a good report card five dollars
and for raking the yard two dollars
total owed one fourteen seventy five
well she looked at him standing there and expecting
and a thousand memories flashed through her mind
so she picked up pen and turned the paper over and this is what she wrote
for the 9 months i carried you holding you inside me no charge
for the nights i sat up with doctored you and prayed for you no charge
for the time and tears and the costs through the years
there is no charge
when you add it all up the full cost of my love is no charge
for the nights filled with grey
and the worries ahead
for the advice and the knowledge
and the costs of your college
there is no charge
for the toys school and clothes
and for wiping your nose
there’s no charge son
when you add it all the full cost of my love is no charge
well you know when i think about that
i think about the day that jesus went out to calvary and gave his life as a ransom for me
when i think on the words if any man be in christ he’s a new creature
i like to think about the very minute that he shedded his blood
my debt was paid in full
and i want you to know today
when you add it all up
the full cost of real love is no charge
Artist: Shirley Caesar
Year: 1975
Decade: 70s
Language: en
Word Count: 153