Mary Byrd, Red Cross nurse
Was the standard that others aspired to
Daughter of mr and mrs so-and-so
Perfect to her parents and her peers
She could do no wrong
No no
Do no wrong

Sleepless nights, they all had led to this
Now she slept with ease and with comfort
Knowing that she was doing her best
One patient at a time she was laying the groundwork for
A safer world
A better world

Mary was called in one night
Interrupting her well-earned rest
There’s a couple just arrived at the hospital they said
We need someone to help see they’re awfully distressed
And you’re the best
You’re the best

William M. Strowd Johns
Was born that night to James and Billie
Mary knew that something was wrong
And the very next morning little William was gone
If only Mary knew
There was nothing she could do

James and Billie tried to get across
That Mary Byrd wasn’t to blame
But somewhere in the tears and the screaming and the silence from behind the closed door
The message was lost
Then Mary knew
And from that well Mary drew

The next year came and James went to war
Billie stayed behind and kept their lives in line but
Mary Byrd, Red Cross nurse
She didn’t have a system and was running out of time
She was the best
They knew she was the best

Mary Byrd worked until the end
She didn’t know what else to do
She went to her parents and then to her friends
They just laughed and cried impossible
Mary Byrd doesn’t get blue
Thank god prohibition was through

Mary found herself in the cemetery
She felt closer to those stones every day
Some lines of prose stood out from a saintly man
Before she’d gotten through it she was sprawled across the grave
Soon enough it bore her name
Mary Byrd, servant of today
Red Cross nurse
We shall love
And we shall praise