| Song | Mama Was Always Tellin' Her Truth |
| Artist | Iris DeMent |
| Album | Sing the Delta |
| # 11 Mama | |
| Was Always | |
| Tellin’ Her | |
| TruthWell my mama she was always tellin’ her truth, | |
| Times were hard and that’s how she made it through | |
| When it came to her feelin’s, wasn’t no back burner on that stove | |
| Some little somethin’ would go wrong and she might start yellin’ or cryin’ | |
| If you didn’t know better, you’d think one of us was dyin’ | |
| But that was mama and she just told her truth | |
| I would sit in the church house right there beside her | |
| Mama would move when the spirit would guide her | |
| Wavin’ her hands up to heaven singin’ her tune | |
| But if the preacher said somethin’ and she didn’t like | |
| Her head would go to shakin’, she just wouldn’t hide it | |
| That was mama and she just told her truth | |
| When I was a kid comin’ in from school, | |
| I said“Mama , | |
| I’m so worried something could happen to you!” | |
| And if you die, | |
| Oh Mama, what am | |
| I gonna do?” | |
| She said, | |
| Iris just because | |
| I’m older than you | |
| Don’t be sure you won’t go before | |
| I doThat was mama and she just told her truth(chorus) | |
| It was my mama who taught me | |
| I could tell my truth | |
| And sometimes it’s all that | |
| I can doLookin’ in from the outside, it might not seem like much | |
| But I’ll tell ya now, if that’s what you’re thinkin’ | |
| Your truth can be the difference between swimmin’ and sinkin’ | |
| I thank my mama for tellin’ me her truth | |
| If she was glad she took you with her | |
| If she was sad she took you too | |
| There wasn’t a lot of travellin’ she didn’t do | |
| Right there in that little house was a bigger world than | |
| I may ever see | |
| Some people liked it and some people didn’t | |
| For some of what she said she may never be forgiven | |
| But that was mama and she just told her truth | |
| Life with my mama could sometimes be a rough road | |
| She could say somethin’ and blood would pour from my soul | |
| But I wouldn’t trade one mile of this journey me and her have been on | |
| Cause I’ve loved my mama like | |
| I’ve never loved another | |
| Long as I live there will be no one above her | |
| I know my mama cause she told me her truth | |
| Life as I know it can be a little confusing | |
| I don’t know the difference between winnin’ and losin’ | |
| Everytime | |
| I find a line that | |
| I can walk on, it slips from view | |
| But when it all goes dark and | |
| I start losing vision | |
| I just think about her and | |
| I know just what | |
| I’m missin’ | |
| I gotta go back to tellin’ my truth (repeat chorus) |
| 11 Mama | |
| Was Always | |
| Tellin' Her | |
| TruthWell my mama she was always tellin' her truth, | |
| Times were hard and that' s how she made it through | |
| When it came to her feelin' s, wasn' t no back burner on that stove | |
| Some little somethin' would go wrong and she might start yellin' or cryin' | |
| If you didn' t know better, you' d think one of us was dyin' | |
| But that was mama and she just told her truth | |
| I would sit in the church house right there beside her | |
| Mama would move when the spirit would guide her | |
| Wavin' her hands up to heaven singin' her tune | |
| But if the preacher said somethin' and she didn' t like | |
| Her head would go to shakin', she just wouldn' t hide it | |
| That was mama and she just told her truth | |
| When I was a kid comin' in from school, | |
| I said" Mama , | |
| I' m so worried something could happen to you!" | |
| And if you die, | |
| Oh Mama, what am | |
| I gonna do?" | |
| She said, | |
| Iris just because | |
| I' m older than you | |
| Don' t be sure you won' t go before | |
| I doThat was mama and she just told her truth chorus | |
| It was my mama who taught me | |
| I could tell my truth | |
| And sometimes it' s all that | |
| I can doLookin' in from the outside, it might not seem like much | |
| But I' ll tell ya now, if that' s what you' re thinkin' | |
| Your truth can be the difference between swimmin' and sinkin' | |
| I thank my mama for tellin' me her truth | |
| If she was glad she took you with her | |
| If she was sad she took you too | |
| There wasn' t a lot of travellin' she didn' t do | |
| Right there in that little house was a bigger world than | |
| I may ever see | |
| Some people liked it and some people didn' t | |
| For some of what she said she may never be forgiven | |
| But that was mama and she just told her truth | |
| Life with my mama could sometimes be a rough road | |
| She could say somethin' and blood would pour from my soul | |
| But I wouldn' t trade one mile of this journey me and her have been on | |
| Cause I' ve loved my mama like | |
| I' ve never loved another | |
| Long as I live there will be no one above her | |
| I know my mama cause she told me her truth | |
| Life as I know it can be a little confusing | |
| I don' t know the difference between winnin' and losin' | |
| Everytime | |
| I find a line that | |
| I can walk on, it slips from view | |
| But when it all goes dark and | |
| I start losing vision | |
| I just think about her and | |
| I know just what | |
| I' m missin' | |
| I gotta go back to tellin' my truth repeat chorus |