I'm Livin' In Shame
The Supremes Lyrics

Mom was cooking bread
The singer's mother was making bread

She wore a dirty raggety scarf around her head
The mother wore a ragged scarf on her head

Always had her stockings low
The mother's stockings were always down, not pulled up

Rolled to her feet, she just didn't know
Her stockings were always rolled down to her feet without her realizing

She wore a sloppy dress
The mother wore a messy, unkempt dress

Oh no matter how she tried, she always looked a mess
Despite the mother's efforts, she always looked untidy

Out of the pot she ate, never used a fork or a dinner plate
The mother ate directly from the pot and never used utensils or plates

I was always so ashamed for my uptown friends to see her
The artist was embarrassed for her wealthy friends to see her mother's poor appearance and habits

Afraid one day when I was grown that I would be her
The artist feared becoming like her mother when she grew up

In a college town, away from home, a new identity I found
The artist adopted a new identity when she went to college in a different town

Said I was born elite, with maids and servants at my feet
The singer lied about being wealthy and having servants

I must have been insane
The artist realizes the craziness of her lies

I lied and said my mom died on a weekend trip to Spain
The singer lied and said her mother died while on vacation in Spain

She never got out of the house, never even boarded a train
The mother never left her home and had never ridden a train

I married a guy, was livin' high
The singer married a wealthy man and lived luxuriously

I didn't want him to know her
The artist was ashamed of her mother and did not want her husband to meet her

She had a grandson, two years old
The artist's mother had a two-year-old grandson

I never even showed her
The singer never introduced her mother to her grandson

Came the telegram
The singer received a telegram

Mom passed away while making homemade jam
The mother passed away while making homemade jam

Before she died, she cried to see me by her side
The mother wished to see her daughter before passing away

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

Always in the same old dress
The mother always wore the same dress

Workin' hard down on her knees
The mother worked hard on her knees

Always try'n to please
The mother was always trying to please others

Momma! Momma! Momma, do you hear me
The singer pleads for her mother to hear her

Won't you forgive me Momma
The singer asks for her mother's forgiveness

For all the wrong I've done
The artist regrets her past actions

I know you have done your best
The artist acknowledges that her mother always did her best

I know you've done your best
The singer acknowledges that her mother always did her best

But I never understood
The singer never fully understood her mother's struggles

Momma, you were always, always tryin' to please
The mother was always trying to please others