Rice & Teeth

Music & Lyrics by Manny Vallarino
© 2020 Manny Vallarino

Verse 1
On a hot, breezy morning
My grandfather and I
Drove home from working at his shop
He steered beside a sidewalk
Nostalgia in his eyes
Said, “Listen up, we gotta talk…”
And the engine stopped

Verse 2
He sat there in his silence
As I rolled my window down
To let the air cool down the blistering car
Then just like that he said them
Words I’d never heard
He didn’t know that those words would get me this far

Chorus
“When I had teeth, I had no rice
Now I’ve got rice, but got no teeth
There’s a lesson in this irony of life
You blow just as much as you breathe”

Verse 3
Now I told you that story
Because I want you to know
That everything in life has a cost
My grandfather worked hard
From the day he was born
And every ton of rice he earned
Was a tooth he lost

Verse 4
You’ve come here with your father
To visit his old man
And here I am preaching down to you
But I live and I survive
So if you’re asking for advice
As my grandfather once said to me, I’ll say to you

Chorus
When I had teeth, I had no rice
Now I’ve got rice, but got no teeth
There’s a lesson in this irony of life
You blow just as much as you breathe

Verse 5
Some day you’ll have a son
And he will have a son
And that kid will visit you from far away
With wonder in his eyes
He’ll ask you for advice
And right then you’ll know what to say

Chorus
“When I had teeth, I had no rice
Now I’ve got rice, but got no teeth
There’s a lesson in this irony of life
You blow just as much as you breathe”