His songs have been performed by a number of other musicians including "After Midnight" and "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton, "Bringing It Back" by Kansas, "Call Me the Breeze" and "I Got the Same Old Blues" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Travelin' Light" and "Ride Me High" by Widespread Panic.
Cale was born on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Some sources incorrectly give his real name as "Jean Jacques Cale". A Sunset Strip nightclub owner employing Cale in the mid-1960s came up with the "JJ" moniker to avoid confusion with the Velvet Underground's John Cale[citation needed]. In the 2006 documentary, To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J.J. Cale, Rocky Frisco tells the same version of the story mentioning the other John Cale but without further detail.
Crazy Mama
JJ Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
You've been hiding out, I know that's true
Crazy mama, I sure need you
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
Standing on the corner, looking for you, babe
Standing on the corner, looking for you, babe
Lord have mercy, can I see,
that crazy mama coming back to me?
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
The song "Crazy Mama" by JJ Cale is a straightforward rock and roll song that tells the tale of a man searching for his "crazy mama" who has been hiding out and keeping herself away from him. The lyrics suggest that the man deeply misses her, and he has been waiting for her to come back to him for a long time. The man is standing on the corner, looking for his lost love with the hope that he could see his crazy mama again.
The lyrics of the song can be interpreted in different ways, but one possible interpretation is that the song portrays a complicated relationship between a man and a woman. The woman might be wild and unpredictable, hence the reference to her as a "crazy mama." The man misses her, but he also recognizes that she has been avoiding him for a while, suggesting that their relationship might be troubled. Nevertheless, the man is still hoping that the woman will come back to him, suggesting that he still loves and cares for her.
Line by Line Meaning
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
Asking where the woman has been for all this time
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
Repeating the question about the woman's whereabouts
You've been hiding out, I know that's true
Acknowledging that the woman has been avoiding contact
Crazy mama, I sure need you
Expressing how much the artist needs the woman's presence
Standing on the corner, looking for you, babe
The artist is searching for the woman on the street corner
Standing on the corner, looking for you, babe
Repeating the line about searching for the woman
Lord have mercy, can I see,
Asking for divine intervention to help locate the woman
that crazy mama coming back to me?
Asking if the woman will return to the artist
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
Repeating the initial question about the woman's whereabouts
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN J CALE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@connieschwarz6023
i just read your comment about Jj.
and i thought you might want to know a little more about that song and JJ.
way back then i was in my 20’s and i was throwing a party at my apartment.
i’m from nashville tennessee.
i grew up in the music industry.
i had a friend named Christine and she was also a singer and musician.
okay…. so everyone was dancing in my kitchen.
my friends had just wrapped up a recording session and they were there.
we’re having a really good time!
i noticed this guy standing in the corner of my kitchen.
really quite kind of guy.
well it was JJ.
JJ was in intrested in Christian .
so they leave together and the rest was history.
anyway…. Eric Clapton had heard JJ’s song After Midnight and he loved it!
so he paid JJ To let him record the song his way.
before i knew it Christine pulls up at my house in a brand new corvette with a license plate on the front that said Crazy Mama!
Christine and i would drive all around nashville in the corvette that JJ had bought for her with some of the money that Eric had paid him.
it was CRAZY! it was beautiful!
just thought you might want to know.
@smokinjz
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
You've been hiding out, I know that's true
Crazy mama, I sure need you
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
Standing on the corner, looking for you, babe
Standing on the corner, looking for you, babe
Lord have mercy, can I see,
that crazy mama coming back to me?
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
@joaofalcao8559
One, two, three, four
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
You've been hidin' out
I know that's true
Crazy mama, I sure need you
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
Standin' on the corner
Lookin' for you, babe
Standin' on the corner
Lookin' for you, babe
Lord, have mercy
I can not see
Crazy mama comin' back to me
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
@sterlingdoughty843
one of the greatest songs of the time
@imonlyyou
Still astounding that an album of southern folk music set to a primitive beatbox stood toe to toe with Zepplin and the Stones and Yes and Bowie and all the other heavies back in 1972. RIP for now, J.J. Cale, thank you forever.
@kerryanncompany5408
❤️🎶🙏
@delaineshay37
Love this song—awesome smooth beat
@Morganasnotarobot0
Very similar cool n sweet vibes, As in mb same league Golden hits As popular As LZ ❤too Many cool melody's 🎶in All myriad styles soulfullyblues,,✨ 🎤✨🎸of JJcale LZ so many Once traversed the limelight ✨these perhaps Incredible Greats Outlive em to stay in great rocknrolhistoryOfACoolzAlAlphastylesNo1s hittn charts Of
TopMankindsfame🎼~❤~🎼
@mikewilliams8951
❤ remember in Lovers Lane 🌸👌
@connieschwarz6023
i just read your comment about Jj.
and i thought you might want to know a little more about that song and JJ.
way back then i was in my 20’s and i was throwing a party at my apartment.
i’m from nashville tennessee.
i grew up in the music industry.
i had a friend named Christine and she was also a singer and musician.
okay…. so everyone was dancing in my kitchen.
my friends had just wrapped up a recording session and they were there.
we’re having a really good time!
i noticed this guy standing in the corner of my kitchen.
really quite kind of guy.
well it was JJ.
JJ was in intrested in Christian .
so they leave together and the rest was history.
anyway…. Eric Clapton had heard JJ’s song After Midnight and he loved it!
so he paid JJ To let him record the song his way.
before i knew it Christine pulls up at my house in a brand new corvette with a license plate on the front that said Crazy Mama!
Christine and i would drive all around nashville in the corvette that JJ had bought for her with some of the money that Eric had paid him.
it was CRAZY! it was beautiful!
just thought you might want to know.
@juanoperez5266
Great LP. One of the best vinils of J.J.Cale 1972. Great artist, a GIANT.
@brianallancobb
Best song of '72. Best slide, ever. Rest in peace, J.J. Your songs won't die while I have breath to sing.
@chunderwunderwhinger1331
I'm playing it NOW ...30 Nov 2022 15.06 european time ..