(audience clapping) - Oh! (audience cheering and clapping) (audience laughing) That was my daughter, Evangeline. (audience loudly cheering and clapping) She flew out here to meet me yesterday. We have a rule where it's
like if mama's working it doesn't matter what's goin' on, she can come on stage and get a kiss. Takes me by surprise sometimes, but. She's amazing, she is about to be four in June. (audience cheering and clapping) She's my first born. I just had another daughter, little Elijah, a couple weeks ago. (audience clapping) Yeah! Couple baby girls. Lotta girls in my family,
'cause I also have a wife. (audience laughs and cheers) I feel, thank you, I feel that it's important
to stand before you in the great state of Texas
and tell you about my family and our right to exist in the world today. (audience loudly cheering and clapping) And I should also be
pretty honest with you and tell you that becoming a
mother was not easy for me. I thought it was gonna be easy, I got told by a lot folks
it was gonna be easy, (audience lightly laughing) moms and dads, gay moms, gay dads, straight moms and straight dads that, you know, you're gonna
be in the delivery room, this baby's gonna come
out and you're gonna feel a tidal wave of love,
instinct, understanding. It's just gonna be this natural shift and I was waitin' for it. I'm in the delivery room, I'm waiting and the baby's comin' out and I was like, (gasps) (audience laughing) God, I feel nothing. (audience loudly laughing) Which just blossomed into
several months of shame. (audience laughing) Only once I started talking about the fact that becoming a parent wasn't
an easy thing for me initially and that I had to really
earn my love for Evangeline, did all these other parents
go, "Oh yeah, me too." (audience cheering) "Yeah, definitely. "The thing I said to you before "was, like, the thing
we say to each other, "but it's not, it's not." Just give it some thought. So, I was like, well, you know what? I mean, I'm a songwriter and I feel like I'm going to tell the
truth about this right now. So, in case you're wondering, (audience hooting and cheering) about having kids or what it feels like, it can feel like anything
that you want it to. You will earn your love
for your child in due time, whether you're a mom or a
dad or a gay mom or a gay dad or a trans mom or a trans dad. (audience loudly cheering and clapping) But this is about my sweet Evangeline. And all the things she took from me. (audience laughing) ("Mother" by Brandi Carlile) (mellow folk music) ♪ Welcome to the end of being
alone inside your mind ♪ ♪ You're tethered to another and
you're worried all the time ♪ ♪ You always knew the melody
but you never heard it rhyme ♪ ♪ She's fair and she is quiet ♪ ♪ Lord, she doesn't look like me ♪ ♪ She made me love the morning,
she's a holiday at sea ♪ ♪ The New York streets are as
busy as they always used to be ♪ ♪ But I am the mother of Evangeline ♪ (audience cheering and clapping) ♪ The first things that she took from me ♪ ♪ Were selfishness and sleep ♪ ♪ She broke a thousand heirlooms
I was never meant to keep ♪ ♪ She filled my life with color ♪ ♪ Canceled plans and trashed my car ♪ ♪ But none of that was ever who we are ♪ ♪ Outside of my windows are
the mountains and the snow ♪ ♪ I hold you while you're sleeping ♪ ♪ And I wish that I could go ♪ ♪ All my rowdy friends are out
accomplishing their dreams ♪ ♪ But I am the mother of Evangeline ♪ ♪ And they've still got
their morning paper ♪ ♪ And their coffee and their time ♪ ♪ And they still enjoy their evenings ♪ ♪ With the skeptics and the wine ♪ ♪ Oh, but all the wonders I have seen ♪ ♪ I will see a second time ♪ ♪ From inside of the
ages through your eyes ♪ ♪ You are not some accident
where no one thought it through ♪ ♪ The world has stood against us ♪ ♪ Made us mean to fight for you ♪ ♪ And when we chose your name we knew ♪ ♪ That you'd fight the power too ♪ (audience loudly cheering) ♪ You're nothing short of
magical and beautiful to me ♪ ♪ Oh, I'll never hit the
big time without you ♪ ♪ So they can keep their treasure ♪ ♪ And their ties to the machine ♪ ♪ 'Cause I am the mother of Evangeline ♪ ♪ They can keep their treasure
and their ties to the machine ♪ Yeah, that's right ♪ I am the mother of Evangeline ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ (audience cheering and clapping)
