Causes and Effects Lyrics

Little girl in wire-framed glasses;
No one says she's beautiful.
But they say that she's a genius,
Gets the highest grades in school.
She built a model of the Hubble Telescope
When she was nine years old.
She says the only thing about space that scares her
Is people say it's cold...

She's just another fractal butterfly
Flapping up a storm.
Looking for a place to land,
Hoping she'll stay warm.
It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.

Pre-teen science fiction princess,
Tries to say she doesn't care
That she'll never be the prom queen;
That the world just isn't fair.
She tries to tell herself that beauty isn't
Worth its weight in gold.
She sometimes thinks she'd sell her soul just
To come out of the cold...

She's just another fractal butterfly
Frightened of the wind.
Certain if she spreads her wings,
The future will begin.
It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.

If I let you, you might kiss me;
If you kiss me, you might stay.
If you stay, then I might love you.
If I love you, who's to say?
It's just chemical reactions...
It's all lies, and it's all true.
It's all actions and reactions...
You to me and me to you.
It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.

High school queen of mathematics;
Graduation's close at hand.
Hopes that college boys are different,
Hopes someone will understand.
She's made a lifetime out of being good,
And doing what she's told,
And now the only thing about life that scares her
Is that she's always cold...

She's just another fractal butterfly
Stronger than she knows.
Following the wind of change,
Whichever way it blows.
It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.

You can't change the laws of physics;
You can't change the laws of fate.
By the time you see the patterns,
It's a hundred times too late.
It's just simple mathematics;
She's the girl I used to be.
All her tears and all her triumphs
Have been added up to me.
It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.

If I let you, you might kiss me;
If you kiss me, you might stay...

Grown-up girl in wire-framed glasses,
Knows damn well she's beautiful.
The greatest proof that she's a genius
Is that she's learned to change the rules.
Now she looks up at space and wonders just
How much a sky can hold,
And there's not a thing about life that scares her,
Because nothing can stay cold...

She's just another fractal butterfly
A hurricane in flight;
As long as she keeps flapping, then
She knows she'll be all right.
It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.

It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.
Here's what happens next.
Here's what happens next.


Written on: 2006-08-01. Seanan McGuire