Mama Tried
Joan Baez & Jeffrey Shurtleff Lyrics

First thing I remember knowin'
My earliest memory is

Was a lonesome whistle blowin'
I heard the sound of a sad train whistle

And a young man's dream
I had aspirations as a young man

Of growin' up to ride
To become a train rider when I grew older

On a freight train leavin' town
On a cargo train that would take me away from town

Never knowin' where I'm bound
Without knowing where I would end up

No one could change my mind but Mama tried
Despite my stubbornness, my mother made every effort to influence me

One and only rebel child
I was the only rebellious child in the family

From a family, meek and mild
In a family known for being submissive and gentle

My Mama seemed to know what lay in store
My mother had a sense of what was to come

'Spite of all my Sunday learnin'
Despite the lessons I learned in church

To the bad, I kept a turnin'
I continuously turned toward the wrong path

'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore
Until my mother reached her limit and couldn't control me

I turned twenty-one in prison
When I reached the age of twenty-one, I was already imprisoned

Doing life without parole
Serving a lifelong prison sentence without the possibility of release

No one could steer me right
Nobody could guide me onto the right path

But Mama tried, Mama tried
However, my mother made every effort to guide me

Mama tried to raise me better
My mother attempted to bring me up in a better way

But her pleadings I denied
I disregarded her desperate requests

That leaves only me to blame 'cause Mama tried
I am solely responsible for the consequences because I ignored my mother's efforts

Dear old Daddy, rest his soul
My late father, may he rest in peace

Left my Mom a heavy load
My mother was burdened with a significant responsibility

She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
She made tremendous efforts to take on my father's role

Workin' hours without rest
Working tirelessly without taking breaks

Wanted me to have the best
She desired the best for me

She tried to raise me right but I refused
Despite her attempts to raise me properly, I rejected her guidance