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The Carter Family Lyrics
The Carter family lived next door for almost 14 years
With Gwen and I inseperatable from rag dolls through brassieres
Then Gwen began to bore me with her giggles and her fears
The day the Carters moved away, I had to fake my tears
I told new friends Gwen Carter had become a silly pest
And then I found I missed her more than I'd ever have guessed
Grandma used to nag at me to straighten up my spine
To act respectful and read good books
To take care of what was mine
I hated being criticized and asking her permission
So what if her advise was wise, It always hurt to listen
I didn't cry when Granny died, she made me so depressed
And then I found I missed her more than I'd ever have guessed
You used to make me moan in bed, but that can't be enough
My friends complained your jokes were crude,
Your manners were too rough
Don't know just what I wanted, but I know I wanted more
Someone smooth, presentable, to blend with my decor
And now at night I think of how you grinned when you undressed
And I find I miss you more than I'd ever have guessed.
With Gwen and I inseperatable from rag dolls through brassieres
Then Gwen began to bore me with her giggles and her fears
The day the Carters moved away, I had to fake my tears
I told new friends Gwen Carter had become a silly pest
And then I found I missed her more than I'd ever have guessed
To act respectful and read good books
To take care of what was mine
I hated being criticized and asking her permission
So what if her advise was wise, It always hurt to listen
I didn't cry when Granny died, she made me so depressed
And then I found I missed her more than I'd ever have guessed
My friends complained your jokes were crude,
Your manners were too rough
Don't know just what I wanted, but I know I wanted more
Someone smooth, presentable, to blend with my decor
And now at night I think of how you grinned when you undressed
And I find I miss you more than I'd ever have guessed.
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The song is about (and by) an outwardly facile woman coming to terms with her innate sentimentality about and for people she has lost throughout her life in varying aspects- friendship, family and love:
-FRIENDSHIP: Her childhood best friend Gwen Carter, who had turned into a "silly pest" after nearly fourteen years of inseparable friendship; she forced herself to cry the day Gwen and her family moved away.
-FAMILY: Her doting and overbearing grandmother; she admits her advice was wise, but decided she just didn't want to hear it; overwhelmed by her depression, she didn't cry at all when her grandmother died.
-LOVE: An ex-boyfriend or husband who, while he satisfied her sexually, was seen as unmannerly with a crude sense of humor. Complaints from her friends convinced her that she deserved more, someone less strident and more adaptable to her lifestyle.
In all of these situations, after each person departed from her life- and after venting the depression she acquired from each of them, her sentimentality would assert itself as she found she missed them "more than I'd ever have guessed"
[Edit: minor changes and reiteration of context]