One day a mother went down to Houston
To see an erring but precious son.
He worked for Enron and yet she loved him
It did not matter what he had done.
She did not bring (to him)
Parole or pardon (free)
She brought no lawyer (mouthpiece)
In the corporate style (three piece suit).
It was a halo (bright)
Sent down from heaven (light)
The sweetest gift, a mother's smile.
Her boy had gone into accounting
Though she had prayed he'd be a priest.
He'd formed six off-shore corporations
And the stockholders he royally fleeced.
She did not bring (to him)
Parole or pardon (free),
She brought no silver (brought no gold)
No pomp or style (him to see)
It was a halo (bright)
Sent down from heaven (bright)
The sweetest gift, a mother's smile.
Then she discovered that her own pension
Which was invested in TIAA-CREF
Had taken a big hit from Enron
And she told him, "I hate you, Jeff."
She did not swing (at him)
A ballpeen hammer (hard)
She did not kick him (his butt)
She did not break (down in tears),
She only said (that she)
A hostile witness (would be)
And that she hoped he would get twenty years.
She spilled her guts out at the trial,
She told the truth, nothing but the truth,
About his avarice and his cruelty
And how he'd treated her in his youth.
He got no pardon (no)
No second chances (not him).
He got twenty (years)
In Leavenworth (Kansas)
He looked so sad (and grim)
As she looked down (at him)
The sweetest gift, a mother's smile.
© Garrison Keillor 2002