Mama Was Always Tellin' Her Truth - Iris Dement
# 11 Mama Was Always Tellin Her Truth Slow She'd walk down the levy from big alley all the Brighton every morning (Piano intro) Well my mama she was always tellin her truth, Times were hard and thats how she made it through When it came to her feelins , wasnt no back burner on that stove When somthin went wrong and she might start yellin or cryin If you didnt know better, youd think one of us was dyin But that was mama and she just told her truth I would sit in the church house right there beside her Mama would move when the spirit would guide her Wavin her hands up to heaven singin her tune But if the preacher said somethin and she didnt like Her head would go to shakin, she just wouldnt hide it That was mama and she just told her truth When I was a kid comin in from school, I said Mama , Im so worried something could happen to you! And if you die, Oh Mama, what am I gonna do? She said, Iris just because Im older than you Dont be sure you wont go before I do That was mama and she just told her truth It was my mama who taught me That i could tell my truth sometimes its all that I could do Lookin in from the outside, it might not seem like much But Ill tell ya now, if thats what youre thinkin The truth can be the difference between swimmin and sinkin I think my mama just told her truth If she was glad she took you with her If she was sad she took you too There wasnt a lot of travellin she didnt do Right there in that little house was a bigger world than I may ever see Some people liked it and some people didnt For some of what she said she may never be forgiven But that was mama and she just told her truth Life with my mama could sometimes be a rough road She could say somethin and blood would burn in my soull But I wouldnt trade one mile of this journey me and her have been on Cause Ive loved my mama like Ive never loved another Long as I live there will be no one above her I know my mama cause she told me her truth Life as I know it can be a little confusing I dont know the difference between winnin and losin Everytime I find a line that I can walk on, it slips from view But when it all goes dark and I start losing vision I just think about her and I know just what Im missin I gotta go back to tellin my truth (repeat chorus)
Artist: Iris Dement