10000 Maniacs - Cotton Alley Lyrics

This song is not about things in her childhood. It is figuratively speaking about her abusive relationships with guys when she was in her early college years and beyond.

Allie McNabb Heatherly, she forever age 9,in September year 2016, sweet Allie passed away from cancer.She was just a very few days shy of her tenth birthday.September 2018, We love and remember you Allie,👍💗💗💗😍😍😍

The Allie whom I mentioned is not the Allie whom Natalie Merchant of 10,000 Maniacs wrote about in the song lyrics.

Clearly in the Natalie Merchant song lyrics, Natalie's character, both characters being elementary school age the boy is romancing the girl. The boyfriend he is a school bully whom is very rough in his behavior of how the little boy is. mistreating his young girlfriend. They both inferred are students together both attending a Catholic school, a reference to a sister coy, in Catholic school amount the teaching staff the nuns are affectionately referred to by each other the nuns do call each other sisters. As the story unfolds, we learn thru Natalie's coaching us thru her song lyrics that the bully boyfriend is having a change of heart, he feels guilty, and he apologized to his young girlfriend for his earlier behavior and it's implied the boyfriend he wants to change his earlier bad behavior into something good.

R.I.P. Robert Buck.

Robert Buck is legendary , for sure .

Agreed!!!

In Jamestown, NY there is a a small alley off of 2nd street named Cotten Alley
Local lore is that is named after a retired, and now deceased Jamestown Police Officer that would park his patrol car there and look for trouble along 2nd street when it was lined with bars.

Cool factoid

Awesome history, it is around the corner from me!