I ain't got much to go on
Just a box of photographs
And every picture tells a story
But every story has two halves

I keep 'em separate
In before-and-after piles
Somewhere in the middle
Is where mama lost her smile

Somewhere in the summer
Back in 1982
Daddy took a job in town
And we all had to move

I feel like there's one missing
I've felt it for a while
One that's gonna tell me
How mama lost her smile

But you don't take pictures
Of the bad times
We only wanna remember
All the sunshine

We don't live in pictures
This is real life
And they're about as different
As black and white

I don't know why it matters
I just know it does
It's not like it'll change things
To find out what it was

She would never tell us
That just ain't her style
But I wish I knew the reason why
Mama lost her smile

But you don't take pictures
Of the bad times
We only wanna remember
All the sunshine

We don't live in pictures
This is real life
And they're about as different
As black and white

We're all a little older
And we're all a little worn
We're all a little faded
And we're all a little torn

But you don't take pictures
Of the bad times
We only wanna remember
All the sunshine

We don't live in pictures
This is real life
And they're about as different
As black and white

I ain't got much to go on
Just a box of photographs
Every picture tells a story
And every story has two halves