Lyrics to
Evening Shade

This version of Evening Shade was released by Dolly Parton in 1969.

Our About Dolly Parton page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Evening Shade from 1969 as well as all of the other lyrics from Dolly Parton that we have in our lyrics database.

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My train of thought was broken by a sudden burst of laughter
Something badly needed to brighten up the chores
Seemed old Mrs. Bailey had accidentally fell
In the water being used to scrub the floors
Now Mrs. Bailey was the meanest matron at the home
She believed in lots of work with little play
And we laughed till we bent double
Though we knew we’d get in trouble
But trouble’s all we had at evening shade
Now evening shade was where they claim to teach you understanding
To teach you love and keep you off the streets
And all the kids that live here are said to be a problem
Juvenile delinquents so to speak

But understanding isn’t learned from punishment and anger
An iron has no gentle touch and love ain’t learned from hate
The reason we were here is ’cause we had no one who cared
But they cared even less at evening shade

Little Susan Bradley, one night had wet her bed
Mrs. Bailey took the razor strap and beat her half to death
And I knew that something must be done to put an end to this
And so I started talking plans with the older kids

Plans were that Joe Johnson would steal the kerosene
And I would get some matches when nobody seen
Beckie Adams would make sure the kids were all outside
Billy Watson would look out for the evil eye

Now Mrs. Bailey took a nap at three o’clock each day
We knew that she’d be a’sleeping as the plans got underway
Now that its all over and the sun is going down
There’s no evening shade ’cause we burned it to the ground

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Dolly Parton has released many songs over the years besides Evening Shade. Dolly Parton released songs from 1967 to 2005 spanning across albums like Hello, I'm Dolly, Just Because I'm A Woman, My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy, In The Good Old Days, As Long As I Love, The Fairest Of Them All, A Real Live Dolly, Coat Of Many Colors, The Golden Streets Of Glory, Joshua, Touch Your Woman, My Favorite Songwriter: Porter Wagoner, Bubbling Over, My Tennessee Mountain Home, Love Is Like A Butterfly, Jolene, Dolly: The Seeker / We Used To, The Bargain Store, All I Can Do, New Harvest... First Gathering, Here You Come Again, Heartbreaker, Great Balls Of Fire, 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs, Dolly, Dolly, Dolly, Heartbreak Express, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Burlap & Satin, Rhinestone, The Great Pretender, Real Love, Rainbow, White Limozeen, Home For Christmas, Eagle When She Flies, Straight Talk, Slow Dancing With The Moon, Heartsongs: Live From Home, Something Special, Treasures, Hungry Again, The Grass Is Blue, Precious Memories, Little Sparrow, Halos & Horns, For God And Country, and Those Were The Days. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Dolly Parton.

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