We've packed her little weekend bag and it sits by the door
It's time to face the moment now that we've tried to ignore
When he rings the doorbell, she'll have to go
And like every other Sunday night, I'm dealt the crushing blow
Through streaming tears down our cheeks, I hold her, oh, so tight
Her father hurries her along, says he ain't got all night
They leave and she keeps waving from her car seat
I start to count the days 'til I have her next week
Shelby don't care who's right or wrong
Her life is a chess game, she's always the pawn
Guess her dad will never learn
His daughter doesn't know which way to turn
He lies about me with a laugh
Then Shelby's left with the aftermath
It cuts me like a dagger when he's as cold as ice
When she asks me, "Mama, why can't daddy play nice?"
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Shelby's getting older, next month she starts fifth grade
I wonder if she's old enough to see through his charade
Her daddy tries to buy her love with the things I can't afford
I waitress double shifts just to drive this beat up Ford
Shelby don't care who's right or wrong
Her life is a chess game, she's always the pawn
Guess her dad will never learn
His daughter doesn't know which way to turn
He lies about me with a laugh
Then Shelby's left with the aftermath
It cuts me like a dagger when he's as cold as ice
When she asks me with tears in her eyes
For years we've played by his rules
It's been a long hard climb
Now standing in her cap and gown
It's finally our time
After years of pain and sorrow and being beaten down
Shelby lives at home with me attending college here in town
No clock now on our time, it was worth the sacrifice
To hear the words that I was a hero in her eyes
Shelby never cared who was right or wrong
The chess games over and she's not a pawn
Guess her dad has finally learned
Now the tables, they have turned
It's no lie that he doesn't laugh
'Cause now he's left with the aftermath
The dagger cuts deep, Shelby was the price
'Cause he was her daddy and he didn't play nice
Didn't play nice