From Wikipedia:

One of the songs Wagner was most proud of is “Remember the Child”, written to address the issue of child abuse. Written from the point of view of a child, the lyrics and song melody deliver a powerful and poignant message to adults that a child will forever remember the love or abuse of their childhood. New York Times best selling author John Bradshaw selected “Remember the Child” as the theme song for his award-winning PBS television special, “Homecoming: Reclaiming and Healing Your Inner Child”. Bradshaw invited Wagner to join him on his nationwide tour to perform the song as a cathartic and healing piece of music to the thousands who attended Bradshaw’s lectures and seminars. Embraced by psychiatrists and psychologists in their practices, the song has been used as a tool to evoke emotion from patients who are unable to express feelings. In 1996, Wagner was invited by Leo Najar, conductor of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra to perform a two and a half hour concert of his songs with the symphony. Wagner entitled the concert, The Remember the Child Concert, raising funds for child abuse agencies in central Michigan through his Remember the Child Foundation.

Wikipedia, “Dick Wagner”

There are many inspirational songs out there, but this one is probably one of the most powerful I have ever encountered in my life. I share this here because I was unable to find the lyrics anywhere on the Internet, and I happen to have them.

Remember The Child

ABC me crying,
Momma make me smile
Rock me in your arms a little while
ABC me crying;
Won’t you love your child?

EFG I’m sorry;
Daddy take my hand
Tell me what I’ve done so bad
EFG I wonder,
Why are you so mad?
Don’t you love me Dad?

Cross my heart, I swear Ma
I won’t cry no more
I’ll just lie in silence
Down here on the floor
Cross my heart and hope to die
If you don’t want me anymore

123 for you Ma,
I won’t talk so loud
I won’t laugh so hard,
I’ll shut my mouth
123 for you Ma,
I won’t make a sound

Do-Re-Mean and angry words are all I hear
Through my bedroom walls Dad, loud and clear
Do-Re-Mi. I lie awake and shake with fear
And wish I had no ears

Try to remember the child that once was you
Did you hide in the corners of your lonely room
And pray to God to help you through, the long and lonely night
Afraid to holler “Momma, oh please come hold me tight”.

Go on and close your eyes, Ma
Take a little trip through time, Dad
Let it all come back to you
And give onto every child the love-the love denied to you
And remember the child will remember
And remember the child will remember his whole lifetime too.

Abuse has many forms. Physical harm, hateful words, and outright neglect are three of the most common. I have written about the power of words to harm and to heal elsewhere; it is both possible and critically important to break the cycle when one becomes aware of trauma suffered as a child.

One of my favorite sayings is, If you don’t heal what hurt you, you will bleed on people who didn’t cut you.

For some people, their relationship with parents is less than storybook, and I have no doubt that this song and these words will resonate with many. I know it does with me, every time I hear it.

The Old Wolf has spoken.