Mom was cookin' bread

She wore a dirty, raggedy scarf around her head,

Always had her stockings low,

Rolled to her feet, she just didn't know



She wore a sloppy dress

Oh, no matter how she tried, she always looked a mess

Out of the pot she ate,

Never used a fork or a dinner plate



I was always so afraid for my uptown friends to see her,

Afraid one day when I was grown, that I would be her



In a college town

Away from home, a new identity I found,

Said I was born elite

With maids and servants at my feet



I must have been insane

I lied and said Mama died on a weekend trip to Spain

She never got out of the house,

Never even boarded a train



Married a guy, was livin' high, I didn't want him to know her

She had a grandson two years old that I never even showed her



I'm livin' in shame

Mama, I miss you

I know you're not to blame

Mama, I miss you



BREAK



Came a telegram

Mama passed away while making homemade jam

Before she died,

She cried to see me by her side



She always did her best

Oh, cooked and cleaned and always in the same old dress,

Workin' hard down on her knees,

Always tryin' to please



Mama, Mama, Mama, can you hear me?

Mama, Mama, Mama, can you hear me?



I'm livin' in shame

Mama, I miss you

I know you've done your best

Mama, I miss you



Won't you forgive me, Mom,

For all the wrong I've done?

I know you've done your best

I know you've done the very best you could

But I never understood

Workin' hard down on your knees,

Mama, you were always, always tryin' to please

(fade out)