Remember the fair, mum, the two of us there, mum,
by the merry-go-round?
I stood there entranced, as the bright colours danced,
to the magical sound.
Just a dollar for pleasure untold,
and I rode in a world of scarlet and gold.

Look, mummy, no hands.
I'm riding the roundabout all by myself!
Look, mummy, no hands!
I called as I passed her, faster and faster.
Hold on tight, darling, she called out in fear,
but I laughed and pretended that I couldn't hear.
How careless we are when we're young...

Remember the years of the sulks and the tears,
do you recall?
I hated you when you said be home by ten,
I knew it all.
Always asking to know what I'd done, when as far as I knew
I was just having fun...

Look, mummy, no hands.
I know how to take good care of myself.
Look, mummy, no hands.
Please don't be a bore, cause I know the score,
She tried to warn me, but I wouldn't heed her,
I was grown up and I didn't need her.
How careless we are when we're young...

Remember the daughter and all that you taught her,
she's grown up at last.
With a life of her own, she struggles alone
as the years all fly past.
But now you're not there to answer her call,
You're not there to catch her when she stumbles and falls.

Look, mummy, no hands.
I'm having to do it all by myself.
Look, mummy, no hands.
I used to dismiss you, now I just miss you.
As the years fly away from me, I feel my heart sinking,
But I look back and smile and I find myself thinking,
How careless we are when we're young.

(Originally by Dillie Keane, in Amanda Palmer's version.)