Melba Montgomery

No Charge

Melba Montgomery


My little boy came into the kitchen this evenin' 
While I was fixin' supper 
And he handed me a piece of paper he'd been writin' on 
And after wipin' my hands on my apron 
I read it - and this is what it said: 

For mowin' the yard - five dollars 
And for makin' my own bed this week - one dollar 
And for goin' to the store - fifty cents 
An' playin' with little brother, while you went shoppin' - twenty-five 
cents 
Takin' out the trash - one dollar 
Gettin' a good report card - five dollars 
And for rakin' the yard - two dollars 
Total owed - fourteen seventy-five. 

Well, I looked at 'im standin' there expectantly 
And a thousand mem'ries flashed through my mind 
So I picked up the pen, turnin' the paper over, 
This is what I wrote: 

For nine months I carried you 
Growin' inside me - NO CHARGE 
For the nights I've sat up with you, 
Doctored you, prayed for you - NO CHARGE 
For the time and the tears. 
And the cost through the years, there's NO CHARGE 
When you add it all up. 
The full cost of my love is NO CHARGE. 

For the nights filled with dread 
And the worries ahead - NO CHARGE 
For advice and the knowledge 
And the cost of your college - NO CHARGE 
For the toys, food and clothes and for wipin' your nose 
There's NO CHARGE, son 
When you add it all up, 
The full cost of my love, is - NO CHARGE. 

Recitation: 
Well, when he finished readin' 
He had great big old tears in his eyes 
And he looked up at me and he said, 
"Mama, I sure do love you." 
Then he took the pen, 
And in great big letters 
He wrote: "PAID IN FULL