Cool Enough to be Gay

Kate Reid

Our mom and our dad told my brother and me
We’re having a family meeting today
It must be serious, I think to myself
As I drive to my mom’s house

See, our mom and our dad are separated now
And he rents an apartment downtown
Maybe they’re moving back in together
Or has their divorce come through?

I’m wracking my brain trying to figure this out
As I park in the driveway of my mom’s house
It’s dawning on me that my dad’s friends
Are these stylish, westend men

And I remember that time he took me and my brother
To that drag queen show last summer
I might be onto something here
It’s starting to seem clear

Pre-chorus:
But he’s so old-school
There’s just no way
My dad’s not cool enough to be gay

Chorus:
I feel curious inside
What are they going to tell us this time?

Now, we’re all sitting down at the kitchen table
My mom and my dad and my brother and me
Our dad has something to share with us
It seems

He says he’s been keeping a secret for years
Then he came out that day to my brother and me
He knew he loved men when he married our mom

But he prayed it would just go away

Pre-chorus:
And he’s so old-school
There’s just no way
You can’t just make it go away

Chorus:
I feel surprised inside
Hearing his truth for the first time
And I feel surprised inside
How did he keep this quiet his whole life?