Every Little Girl

# “EVERY LITTLE GIRL”

**[Movement I — The Footsteps | Dark, Sparse, Suspenseful]**

*Low cello, distant heartbeat percussion, dissonant piano. The princess finishes her hymn. Footsteps approach.*

**PRINCESS — softly sung**

I heard you coming through the trees,

I felt you moving on the breeze.

I thought a love I'd lost had found me…

*She turns. Her mother stands before her.*

**PRINCESS**

Mother?

**MOTHER — cold, controlled alto**

You called for love.

Well, here I am.

Still chasing dreams you never planned.

You left my kingdom, shamed my name,

And somehow I'm the one to blame?

You chose that man, you chose this life—

Now look at all this pain and strife.

**PRINCESS**

Where is he? What have you done?

You took my husband, took my son—

No, not my child. My child is here.

But you took the man who should be near.

**MOTHER**

He is where I say he'll stay.

Some debts are paid another way.

You thought that you could simply leave

And make a fool of everything I believe?

**[Movement II — The Prisoner | Orchestral Tension]**

*Strings tighten. A low brass note swells. The princess steps toward her mother.*

**PRINCESS**

You sent the spell. You shaped the lie.

You watched my springtime turn to ice.

I thought my love had turned away—

You stole the truth and made me pay.

**MOTHER**

I wanted what was best for you!

**PRINCESS**

You wanted what you could control!

You put a price upon my life

And called that price a mother's love.

You never asked what made me whole.

You never cared what fed my soul.

You wanted gold, a crown, a throne—

But I was never yours to own!

**MOTHER — rising, furious**

I gave you everything I had!

**PRINCESS**

Then why must I be punished for being glad?

*The orchestra crashes into silence.*

**[Movement III — The Baby | Darkness Begins to Soften]**

*The baby stirs. The princess gathers the child close. A single piano note replaces the dissonant strings.*

**MOTHER — quietly**

Let me see her.

**PRINCESS**

Why?

**MOTHER**

I only asked to see the child.

*The princess hesitates, then turns the baby toward her mother. A soft, wordless vocal harmony enters.*

**MOTHER — almost singing to herself**

Such a pretty baby…

Such a little face.

All that life before her,

All that time and space.

*She reaches out, then stops herself.*

**MOTHER**

She has your eyes.

**PRINCESS**

And his.

*Silence.*

**MOTHER — voice trembling**

His eyes…

*The cello begins to soften into a warm, gentle melody.*

**[Movement IV — What Her Sister Said | Tender Alt-R&B Transition]**

**MOTHER**

Your sister said you had a lovely home,

A pretty baby, standing on your own.

I thought she meant the things you had—

A little house, the life you made.

But look at her…

So small, so new.

What has she done to deserve what I did to you?

I wanted you to have the world,

A palace fit for any girl.

But all the gold I laid before your feet

Could never make a family complete.

**PRINCESS — softly**

I never needed you to choose my life.

I only needed you to let me live it.

**MOTHER**

And I was so afraid you'd have too little

That I took away what mattered most.

*Soft Rhodes chords and a distant, breathy vocal pad enter.*

**[Movement V — Every Little Girl | The Mother's Confession]**

**MOTHER — gentle, maternal, almost a lullaby**

Every little girl needs a chance

To know her father,

To look into his eyes

And know that she belongs.

Every little girl deserves to ask

Where she came from,

To hear the stories,

To know the voice

That might sing her a song.

I thought I could protect you

By deciding who you'd be.

But a child is not a kingdom,

And love is not a decree.

*She looks at the baby.*

Every little girl needs a chance

To know her father…

And I can't keep her from that

Just because I couldn't let you go.

**[Final Refrain — Mother and Daughter]**

**PRINCESS**

Then let him come home.

Let the truth be told.

Don't make her pay

For a heart grown cold.

**MOTHER**

I thought that love meant holding tight.

I never learned to loosen my hands.

**PRINCESS**

Then start tonight.

**MOTHER — to the baby**

Every little girl needs a chance

To know her father…

**BOTH, softly**

Every little girl deserves

A love that lets her grow.

**[Outro — Piano, Rhodes, and Wordless Harmonies]**

*The mother steps aside. Somewhere beyond the trees, the spell begins to loosen. The princess holds her baby close. Her mother does not ask to be forgiven.*

*One warm piano chord. A breath of silence.*

**MOTHER — barely sung**

Let me bring him home.