i'm livin' in shame lyrics

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

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