Grandma's Tattoo

It was a secret that she kept a long time
But she didn’t take it to her grave
There was a trip she took to Pensacola
When she was young and didn’t have to behave
There was a man who she had long admired
There was something ‘bout his rugged good looks
You know, she liked to watch him on the small screen
And read about him in the comic books

She said it was the heat of the moment
She said it was the blush of youth
She said it was the smell of the sea air
And the taste of the gin and the dry vermouth
She said it took about an hour
A couple inches of black and blue
Grandma’s Batman tattoo

Close to her heart
A private work of art
Underneath the wool and the flannel
No matter how she dressed
There upon her chest
Same bat time, same bat channel
Holy toledo
Something to see, oh
But she always kept it hidden from view
Grandma’s Batman tattoo

Grandma was a real good grandma
Grandma was a real good wife
She lived a stay at home, turn my stories on
Squash casserole kind of a life
Grandma didn’t stir up trouble
Grandma just stirred the stew
She didn’t like to fly
Never told a life
And she never made a hullabaloo

But there were nights she lay awake and wondered
How come it turned out this way
What happened to the girl on the tilt-a-whirl
By the beach that summer day
Sometimes she would look in the mirror
Sometimes she would stop and stare
At herself and her favorite picture
Both looking kind of worse for wear

Close to her heart
A private work of art
Underneath the wool and the flannel
No matter how she dressed
There upon her chest
Same bat time, same bat channel
Holy toledo
Something to see, oh
But she always kept it hidden from view
Grandma’s Batman tattoo

It was a secret that she kept a long time
But she didn’t take it to her grave
There was a family trip to New Orleans
When she was old and didn’t want to behave
Grandpa had been gone for one hard year
We thought that maybe it would cheer her up
To take grandma to the Mardi Gras
And let her walk Canal with a go cup

Time has not erased the memory
We are hoping one day it recedes
She said it was the heat of the moment
She said she really wanted some beads
It was the evening that we all discovered
What just the doctor and grandpa knew
Grandma’s Batman tattoo
Grandma’s Batman tattoo