Preservation by The Singer and The Songwriter (Tiny Desk Contest 2024 Submission) 

This song was inspired by Thu’s Vietnamese immigrant parents, an anthem about the small ways we cope in order to survive.
"Preservation"
Music & Lyrics by Rachel Garcia and Thu Tran
Mom offsets her carbon footprint
Never throws nothing away
Thirty-year old cups and plates
Shelves bow under their weight
Collecting films of grease and dust
They never see the light of day
Nothing, nothing, nothing goes to waste in this house
If you don’t want it well it’s staying anyway
Conservation, preservation; pays to stay the same
You never know when you might need it
So keep it just in case
Mom has learned to keep her distance
When he’s in one of his moods
Hides away her disappointment
With her grudges and her bruises
Saving face, keeping stock
Holding on to sunken costs
Nothing, nothing, nothing goes to waste in this house
If you don’t want it well it’s staying anyway
Conservation, preservation; the little things that keep her safe
Never knows when she might need him
Keeps him just in case
Now in his place there sits an altar
Incense burning night and day
She cooks for him a daily offering
Served on thirty-year old plates
Nothing, nothing, nothing goes to waste in this house
If you don’t want it well it’s staying anyway
Conservation, preservation; things she’ll leave for me someday
Never know when you might need it
So keep it just in case
Nothing, nothing, nothing goes to waste in this house
If you don’t want it well it’s staying anyway
Conservation, preservation; pays to stay the same
You never know when you might need it
So keep it just in case
(c) 2024 The Singer and The Songwriter / ASCAP