Daddy always thought that he married beneath him
That's what he said, that's what he said
When he proposed he informed my mother
He was probably her very last chance
And though she was twenty-two,
Though she was twenty-two,
Though she was twenty-two,
She married him.
Life with my dad wasn't ever a picnic
More like a "Come as you are,"
When I was five I remember my mother
Dug earrings out of the car
I knew that they weren't hers, But it wasn't
Something you'd want to discuss
He wasn't warm
Well, not to her
Well, not to us
But everything was beautiful at the ballet
Graceful men lift lovely girls in white
Yes, everything was beautiful at the ballet
I was happy... at the ballet.
That's when I started ballet class.
Up a steep and very narrow stairway.
To the voice like a metronome.
Up a steep and very narrow stairway.
It wasn't paradise...
It wasn't paradise...
It wasn't paradise...
But it was home.
Mother always said I'd be very attractive
When I grew up, when I grew up.
"Diff'rent," she said, "With a special something
And a very, very personal flair."
And though I was eight or nine,
Though I was eight or nine,
Though I was eight or nine,
I hated her.
Now, "Diff'rent" is nice, but it sure isn't pretty
"Pretty" is what it's about
I never met anyone who was "diff'rent"
Who couldn't figure that out.
So beautiful I'd never lived to see.
But it was clear,
If not to her,
Well, then to me
That everyone is beautiful at the ballet.
Every prince has got to have his swan.
Yes, everyone is beautiful at the ballet.
I was pretty
At the ballet
(I was born to save their marriage
but when my father came to pick my mother up
at the hospital
he said, "Well, I thought this was going to help
but I guess not..."
A few months later he left and he never came back.
Anyway, I had this fantastic fantasy life.
I used to dance around the living room
with my arms up like this
And in my fantasy, there was an Indian Chief...
And he would say to me,
"Izzie, do you wanna dance?"
And I would say, "Daddy, I would love to dance!")
But it was clear...
When he proposed...
That I was born to help their marriage and when
That's what she said...
That's what he said...
I used to dance around the living room...
He wasn't warm...
Not to her...
It was an Indian chief and he'd say:
"Izzie, do you wanna dance?"
And I'd say, "Daddy, I would love to..."
Everything was beautiful at the ballet,
Raise your arms and someone's always there.
Yes, everything was beautiful at the ballet,
The ballet
The ballet
Yes everything was beautiful at the ballet.
I was pretty...
I was happy...
"I would love to..."
At...the...ballet.
