Too Familiar — An adult traveler returns to a childhood Central Valley street where porches, trees and vintage cars echo in overlapping shapes of affectionate déjà vu

The songbook

Too Familiar

Words by Douglas Heyes Jr. Listen to the recorded versions and follow the lyric below.

Original Doug Heyes lyrics · AI-generated music & vocals

A survivor confronts the person who violated childhood trust and demanded secrecy. The lyric names the lasting harm to both the child and the family, placing responsibility on the abuser rather than the person who was silenced. Its final movement toward forgiveness is presented as the survivor's difficult hope, not an excuse for what happened.

Listen

Recorded versions

3 recordings. Different voices and arrangements bring another side of the song into the light.

Lyrics

Too Familiar

Words by Douglas Heyes Jr

Save Lyrics as Text
TOO FAMILIAR

You got a little too familiar
In the things you said and did
You’re a liar and deceiver
I was only just a kid
You said, don't ever tell your mother
Don't even have a word to say
Just try to look the other way
About what happens here today

I learned what family secrets were
When you sent me away
You made me swear I'd never tell
What happened there that day
You once gave me everything
Then you took it all away
I fell down on my knees to pray
That it would all just go away

Too Familiar
You never meant to hurt me
You were Too Familiar
Then you had to desert me
Do you know the pain
That you brought to our family
Hang your head in shame
You're the only one to blame

There are things that I will not reveal
We all have secrets to  conceal
You said, we have a secret place
Where there is nothing called disgrace
I bought that line of yours a while
You turned away from the tears of a child
When I was out there running wild
I thought that I could see you smile

After all is said and done
It's just another day under the Sun
Kids are out and having fun
Mom's forever on the run
Now, as you turn into dust
I remember how to trust
And though it's really hard right now
I'll find a way to forgive you somehow
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