Natalie Merchant – Generous lyrics

This is the song that I have selected for my father of the bride / daughter dance with my father at my wedding. There is a lot of hidden meanings for me in this song. All my life, my father has been abusive, manipulative, selfish, vindictive and cunning. Had I selected "Crazy Train" by Ozzy, "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapman, or something along those lines, though these songs would have been much more fitting, they would have set my psychologically unstable father off and who knows what he would have done - in front of 200 people - because he is just that sick. (Thank the Lord the police have taken his guns away.) So, "Kind and Generous" by Natalie Merchant works so well because I see in it the sarcasm. My father can be kind and generous - when he wants something for himself in it or thinks it will make him look like some kind of hero, but there is always a price to pay with his 'generosity' - usually a big, painful one. And its true that I would not have become the person I am today without him. After all the therapy to overcome the affects of the abuse, I am now a strong, self-assured woman who can pretty much get through anything this life throws at me. And I can spot an abuser a thousand miles away and have become real good at avoiding those kinds of relationships now. (The man I am about to marry is the most awesome kind man a woman could ever ask for, he is the protector and supporter that my father never was among all his other wonderful, stable, real man qualities such as strength in humility, generosity without expecting anything in return, understanding, etc). Now I need to mention one more thing about why I chose this song for my father/daughter dance at my wedding: When I have to dance with that man at the reception, I can think of all the clowns in the video to not only help me get through the four minutes of torture, but to put a smile on my face for appearances sake.