I.O.U.

I.O.U. - Jimmy Dean

I was cleaning out my wallet the other day

And I ran across a whole bunch of I O You 's

Some of them thirty years overdue

Funny thing is that

All these I O You 's are owed to one person

And I kinda feel like right now

Might be a pretty good time for an accounting

Mom

You listenin

Mom

I owe you for so many things

A lot of services

Like night watchman for instance

For lying awake nights listening for coughs

Cries

Creaking floorboards and me coming in too late

You had the eye of an eagle

The roar of a lion

But you always had a heart as big as a house

I owe you for services as a short order cook

Chef

Baker

For making sirloin out of hamburger

Turkey out of tuna fish

And two big ol' strapping boys out of leftovers

I owe you for cleaning services

For the daily scrubbing of face

And ears all work done by hand

And for the frequent dusting of a small boys pants

To try to make sure that he led a spotless life

And for washing and ironing

No laundry could ever do

For drying the tears of childhood

And for Ironing out the problems of growing up

I owe you for servics as a bodyguard

For protecting me from the terrors of thunderstorms

And nightmares ha

And too many green apples

And Lord knows I owe you for medical attention

For nursing me through measles

Mumps

Bruises

Bumps

Splinters and spring fever

And let's not forget medical advise either

Oh

No

Important things like ha ha

Don't scratching it or it wont get well

If you cross your eyes they're gonna stick like

That And probably ah

Most Important of all was

Be sure you got on clean underwear boy

In case you're in an accident

And I owe you for veterinarian services

For feeding every lost dog that

I dragged home at the end of the rope

And for healing the pains of puppy love

And I owe you for entertainment

Entertainment that kept the household going

During some pretty tough times

For wonderful productions at Christmas

4th of July and birthdays

And for making make believe come true

On a very limited budget

I owe you for construction work

For building kites

Confidence

Hopes and dreams

And somehow you made em all touch the sky

And for cementing a family together

So it would stand the worst kinds of shocks

And blows and for laying down

A good strong foundation to build a life on

I owe you for carrying charges

For carrying me on your books

For the necessities of life that a growing boy

Just gotta have Things like

A oh

A pair of high top boots with a little pocket

On the side for a jackknife

And one thing

Mom

I will never ever forget

When there were two pieces of apple pie left

And three hungry people I noticed that

You were the one who suddenly decided that

You really didn't like apple pie in the 1st place

These are just a very few of the things

For which payment is long overdue

The person I owe em to worked very cheap

She managed by simply doing

Without a whole lotta things

That she needed herself

My I O You 's add up to much more than

I could ever hope to repay

But you know the nicest thing about it all is that

I know that she'll mark the entire bill paid

In full for just one kiss and four little words

Mom

I love you