I'm Livin' In Shame
Diana Ross Lyrics

Mom was cooking bread
My mother was preparing food

She wore a dirty raggety scarf around her head
She would wear a headscarf that was worn out and dirty

Always had her stockings low
She would wear her stockings rolled down to her ankles

Rolled to her feet, she just didn't know
She didn't realize that her stockings were rolled down

She wore a sloppy dress
She would wear an untidy dress

Oh no matter how she tried, she always looked a mess
No matter how much effort she put in, she could never look neat

Out of the pot she ate, never used a fork or a dinner plate
She would eat directly from the pot, without using utensils or plates

I was always so ashamed for my uptown friends to see her
I felt ashamed when my wealthy friends would see my mother looking unkempt

Afraid one day when I was grown that I would be her
I was scared that I would become like her when I got older

In a college town, away from home, a new identity I found
I assumed a new identity when I moved to a different city for college

Said I was born elite, with maids and servants at my feet
I lied and claimed that I was born into a wealthy family with servants

I must have been insane
I was crazily delusional to invent such lies

I lied and said my mom died on a weekend trip to Spain
I fabricated a story that my mother had passed away while traveling in Spain

She never got out of the house, never even boarded a train
My mother had never left the house, let alone travel to another country

I married a guy, was livin' high
I got married to a wealthy man and was living a luxurious life

I didn't want him to know her
I didn't want my husband to meet my mother

She had a grandson, two years old
My mother had a two-year-old grandson

I never even showed her
I never introduced my mother to her grandson

Came the telegram
I received a telegram

Mom passed away while making homemade jam
My mother had passed away while making jam at home

Before she died, she cried to see me by her side
Before she passed away, she cried to have me by her side

She always did her best, ah! cookin', cleanin'
My mother always tried her best at cooking and cleaning

Always in the same old dress
She would always wear the same dress

Workin' hard down on her knees
She would work on her knees, likely while cleaning

Always try'n to please
She was always trying to please others

Momma! Momma! Momma, do you hear me
Calling out to my mother, wondering if she can hear me

I'm livin' in shame, Momma, I miss you
I feel ashamed and miss my mother

I know you are not to blame, Momma, I miss you
I know that my mother is not at fault and I miss her

Won't you forgive me Momma
Asking my mother for forgiveness

For all the wrong I've done
For all the lies and shame that I have caused

I know you have done your best
I know my mother tried her best

I know you have done your very best you could
I know my mother did everything she could

But I never understood
But I never appreciated or understood her efforts

Momma, you were always, always tryin' to please
My mother was always trying to make others happy