I'm Livin' In Shame
Ross Diana & The Supremes Lyrics

Mom was cooking bread, she wore a dirty raggety scarf around her head.
My mother used to bake bread, but she didn't have many nice things to wear. She used to wear a raggedy scarf on her head for covering.

Always had her stockings low, rolled to her feet, she just didn't know.
Her stockings were always down near her feet despite her best efforts to keep them up. It seemed like a futile attempt to keep up appearances.

She wore a sloppy dress, no matter how she tried, she always looked a mess.
My mom always wore loose, disheveled clothes. No matter how hard she tried, she always looked unkempt, which was a source of embarrassment for me.

Out of the pot she ate, never used a fork or a dinner plate.
She never used traditional dishes or utensils. She ate directly from pots and pans, which was a significant contrast to the expected etiquette of our uptown friends.

I was always so ashamed for my uptown friends to see her, afraid one day when I was grown that I would be her.
I was so ashamed when my uptown friends visited and saw my mother. I feared for my future because I didn't want to become like her one day.

In a college town, away from home, a new identity I found.
When I started college, I began to create an identity separate from my mother and her working-class lifestyle.

Said I was born elite, with maids and servants at my feet.
I lied and said I was born elite with household staff. I made it sound like I had everything, even though my upbringing was far from lavish.

I must have been insane, I lied and said my mom died on a weekend trip to Spain.
I must have been out of my mind to claim that my mother died on vacation in Spain, which was a complete fabrication.

She never got out of the house, never even boarded a train.
My mother never traveled anywhere, and rarely left the house unless she had to go to work or handle household affairs.

I married a guy, was livin' high, I didn't want him to know her.
I married a wealthy man and lived an affluent lifestyle. I kept my mother at a distance and didn't want my husband to meet her because I was afraid he would not approve of her working-class ways.

She had a grandson, two years old, I never even showed her.
My mother had a grandson that she had never seen. I kept her away from him and didn't let her be a part of his life.

Came the telegram, mom passed away while making homemade jam.
I received a telegram that my mother had passed away while she was making homemade jam.

Before she died, she cried to see me by her side.
My mother wanted me to be with her before she passed away.

She always did her best, Ah! cookin', cleanin', always in the same old dress.
My mother worked hard her entire life, cooking and cleaning. She never had many nice things to wear and always wore the same dress.

Workin' hard down on her knees, always try'n to please.
My mother worked tirelessly, often on her knees, to try to make me proud and provide for our family.

Momma! Momma! Do you hear me, Momma!
I am still trying to reach out to my mother, even though she is no longer here to answer me.