As we were dressing to go out, our little girl and boy

Came in and asked if they could go this time

We told them little girls and boys don't belong at parties

And that they should be in bed asleep by nine

The babysitter came in then and we kissed the kids goodbye

And told them that we'd be home soon

and told them not to cry

Then we left for the party like we'd so often done

Thinkin' only of ourselves and not our little ones

The party started out wild and it

grew wilder as the night wore on

With drinking laughing teling dirty

jokes nobody thinkin' of home

Then the stranger feeling came over me

and it chilled me to the bones

And I told my wife that we'd better leave the party

'Cause I felt that we were needed at home

As we rode along

I got to thinking of how the kids that mornin'

Had asked if we would take them to church the next day

And how I'd put 'em off like I'd so often done

By sayin' we'd probably get home too late

Then my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sirens

As they cut through the still night air

Then we turned down our street, that's when we saw the fire

The rest was like a nightmare

We took their little bodies to church the next day

Though we'd left the party early we still got home too late