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No One Knows My Name Lyrics
When my mother was just a girl of seventeen
Oh my mother was just a girl of seventeen
And my Dad was passin' through
Doin' things a man will do
And my mother was just a girl of seventeen
It's a wonder that I'm in this world at all
It's a wonder that I'm in this world at all
And I had a life to claim
Though I really don't know my name
It's a wonder that I'm in this world at all
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
But it's written up in the sky
And I'll see it by and by
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Well I had a good mother and dad just the same
Well I had a good mother and dad just the same
And they took me to their breast
And they surely stood the test
Well I had a good mother and dad just the same
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Just another baby born
To a girl lost and 'lorn
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Now and then there's a lonesome thought in my mind
Now and then there's a lonesome thought in my mind
And a crowded street I see
A stranger's face that looks like me
Now and then there's a lonesome thought in my mind
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
But I'll see it by and by
Cause it's written up in the sky
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Oh my mother was just a girl of seventeen
And my Dad was passin' through
Doin' things a man will do
And my mother was just a girl of seventeen
It's a wonder that I'm in this world at all
And I had a life to claim
Though I really don't know my name
It's a wonder that I'm in this world at all
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
But it's written up in the sky
And I'll see it by and by
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Well I had a good mother and dad just the same
And they took me to their breast
And they surely stood the test
Well I had a good mother and dad just the same
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Just another baby born
To a girl lost and 'lorn
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Now and then there's a lonesome thought in my mind
And a crowded street I see
A stranger's face that looks like me
Now and then there's a lonesome thought in my mind
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
But I'll see it by and by
Cause it's written up in the sky
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Song Info
Submitted by
smallwonderrobot On Sep 20, 2006
More Gillian Welch
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I Dream A Highway
Everything Is Free
The Way It Goes
Hard Times
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I heard Gillian play this song live last night when she opened for Bright Eyes, and my initial reaction was that it was about adoption. Her mother being just a girl of seventeen, gets pregnant accidentally by a man just passing through town. It's a wonder that she's in this world at all because it was such a chance meeting between her biological parents, and then her mother actually deciding to go through with the pregnancy and everything...I don't know, that's the feeling I get from it. Espeically "And a crowded street I see/A stranger's face that looks like me." Being adopted sometimes I feel the same way as the words in this song. I love her voice and music...
the fourth verse supports that contention.
As does the fact that Gillian was also adopted herself.