Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood
Did what she knew she should,
Lived by good principle.

But kids scorned and mocked her
Be-cause of her color,
Made her life miserable.

She went home to mom and dad,
But that's what made life so sad.

They both were working,
Their real job shirking.
They never were there for their child.

They worked all day
Just to repay
All of the debt they'd acquired.

A house and a boat and three cars:
Had to live life like the stars.

That's not what she needed
When she was mistreated.
She needed a mom and a dad.

But they were not home.
She lived on her own;
Left by herself she was sad.

The days dragged on like years.
She lived her life in tears.

She went back to school;
The kids there were cruel.
They laughed and they mocked her again.

Her grades started failing;
Her face started paling.
Her parents were still busy then.

They'd bring her gifts but then go.
Their girl they never did know.

She went through the forest
To grandmother Norris;
She knew that her grandma would care.

She stopped for a rest,
Still quite depressed;
She broke down and cried again there.

Oh, what had her life become?
She'd reached the very bottom.

A wolf came in view,
Said that he knew
All of her struggle and strife.

He said that he'd help her
To make it all better,
Then reached out and gave her a knife.

Her grandmother found her that day,
But by then it was too late!

Her body was lifeless,
Though she had been priceless,
But love she never did know.

Her parents, still busy,
Now made time to be
What they should have been long ago.

If only before today –
It might not have ended this way.



© Daniel Lorimer
May 19, 2010


(Backstage: This is a part of a series of songs that play off of familiar childhood stories, rewritten toward a broader audience with a twist (or rewrite) in the storyline to convey a new message.)