Lawdy Mama
Cream Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lawdy mama, no need to worry.
Want to go out, baby, to late at night.
I got a real funny feeling
You're gonna treat your daddy right.
Big-legged woman, come and hold my hand.
Lawdy mama, no need to worry.
I got a real funny feeling
You want to love another man.
The lyrics to Cream's song Lawdy Mama are as sultry as they are suggestive, depicting a man who is eager to go out with his lover late at night. Despite this rebellious desire, he tries to reassure his "lawdy mama" that there is "no need to worry." The singer seems to be confident that his lover will "treat [him] right," but there's an ominous undercurrent to the lyrics that suggests he may have good reason to doubt her.
The second verse introduces a new character: a "big-legged woman" who the singer invites to hold his hand. Despite his previous assurances to his lover, he now has a "funny feeling" that this woman wants to "love another man." It's unclear whether the singer is asking his lover's permission to cheat on her, or if he's simply expressing his suspicions that she's already been unfaithful. Either way, the lyrics leave a lot of room for interpretation.
Overall, Lawdy Mama is a bluesy, rock-and-roll ode to infidelity and temptation. It paints a picture of a relationship on the brink, with the singer unsure if he can trust his lover and eager to seek out new thrills. The song's sparse but powerful lyrics and driving beat make for a compelling listen that still feels fresh and exciting today.
Line by Line Meaning
Want to go out, baby, to late at night.
Expressing desire to go out late at night with the baby.
Lawdy mama, no need to worry.
Assuring the mother figure that there is no need to be concerned.
Want to go out, baby, to late at night.
Reiterating the desire to go out late at night with the baby.
I got a real funny feeling
Expressing the presence of an unusual feeling.
You're gonna treat your daddy right.
Believing that the baby will behave well and treat the father figure nicely.
Big-legged woman, come and hold my hand.
Addressing a woman with notable legs and asking for physical contact.
Lawdy mama, no need to worry.
Reassuring the mother figure again.
Big-legged woman, come and hold my hand.
Repeating the request for physical contact with the woman with notable legs.
I got a real funny feeling
Reiterating the presence of an unusual feeling.
You want to love another man.
Suggesting that the woman with notable legs desires to be with another man instead of the singer.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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László Levente Kis
Wanna go out, baby, to late at night.
Lawdy mama, no need to worry.
Wanna go out, baby, to late at night.
I got a real funny feeling
You're gonna treat your daddy right.
Big-legged woman, come and hold my hand.
Lawdy mama, no need to worry.
Big-legged woman, come and hold my hand.
I got a real funny feeling
You wanna love another man.
László Levente Kis
Wanna go out, baby, to late at night.
Lawdy mama, no need to worry.
Wanna go out, baby, to late at night.
I got a real funny feeling
You're gonna treat your daddy right.
Big-legged woman, come and hold my hand.
Lawdy mama, no need to worry.
Big-legged woman, come and hold my hand.
I got a real funny feeling
You wanna love another man.
Wayne-Allen Jones
in verse 2: LONG-legged woman x 2
Garth Kolbeck
It's the same backing track 😂
Enrique Ponte Cruz
Excelente e inolvidable versión
Dennis McAndrew
One of the best albums ever. Everyone has to own the best of Cream. Wrapping Paper is a very special song. It reminds me of my kind and i mean the kindest lady i have ever known, and she was taken from this world when i was 5. I am so glad i have many many memories of her.
ryan gregg
Pretty cool to see how they used basically the same sound to produce a similar song but still sounding different. Both songs are fantastic. Such a good sound. Such a loud brash guitar sound I love it. Loved how loud cream used to play. Such badasses
Darragh Lindersmith
This album puts a pin in a most excellent time of my life ❤️🌺
Hublocker
This is based on a blues song Cream used to play called "Lawdy Mama." Felix Pappalardi, who produced the album, wrote new lyrics to the song with his wife, Gail Collins, and Eric Clapton worked out the arrangement and also sang lead. Pappalardi, Collins and Clapton are the credited writers on the song.
As for Pappalardi, he went on to form Mountain, a band he also produced. In 1983, he was shot and killed by Collins in a domestic dispute; Collins was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide.
When Cream performed the early version of this song as "Lawdy Mama," Clapton and bass player Jack Bruce would share lead vocals. The band recorded both "Lawdy Mama" and "Strange Brew" at Atlantic Studios in New York on April 3, 1967. The band had spent the previous week in the city, performing daily at the "Music In The Fifth Dimension" show at the RKO Theater. These shows were organized by the influential disc jockey Murray the K, and provided great exposure for Cream in America. Other acts on the bill for some of these shows: The Who, Wilson Pickett and the Lovin' Spoonful. Cream would complete the Disraeli Gears album when they returned to the United States the next month.
The lyrics refer to a female, which could mean drugs or be a more literal reference to a woman. Either way, she is "killing what's inside of you."
Cream had a very psychedelic sound, and this song was released in the Summer of Love, where it fit in quite well.
To craft "Strange Brew," producer Felix Pappalardi added Eric Clapton's vocal to a take of the band's recording of "Lawdy Mama," which appears as a bonus track on the 2004 re-release of Disraeli Gears, but didn't make the original album. Jack Bruce wasn't happy about this, especially since he wasn't able to re-record his bassline. To keep the tenuous peace in the band during Cream's reunion concerts in 2005, "Strange Brew" was omitted from their 19-song playlist, despite being one of their best known and loved songs.
James Baker
Wow, lots of info thereunder! And I'm sure you already know that 'Lawdy Mama ' is a cover of a Junior Wells song ....
James Baker
Re written lyrics ?? The lyrics in Junior Wells' and creams' versions are pretty much the same