[Verse 1]
Mama Ludy, you kept the kettle warm
When the whole house rattled in a storm
Your hands knew every broken thing
You made a little room for spring
[Pre-Chorus]
I learned my courage at your table
You made the hard days feel more able
Tonight I’m older, but I still see
The safest place you made for me
[Chorus]
Come dance with me, Mama Ludy
One slow turn for all you gave
Your laugh still pulls me through the doorway
Your love still teaches me to stay
Come dance with me, Mama Ludy
Let the old floor know our names
If I’ve become somebody steady
It’s because you showed me how to stand
[Verse 2]
You saved the buttons in a coffee tin
Sewed up the places life wore thin
You’d hum while folding Sunday clothes
And somehow make a home from almost nothing
[Pre-Chorus]
Now I bring the years I’ve carried
The little wins, the roads I’ve married
Lay them softly in your hands
You’ll understand before I can
[Chorus]
Come dance with me, Mama Ludy
One slow turn for all you gave
Your laugh still pulls me through the doorway
Your love still teaches me to stay
Come dance with me, Mama Ludy
Let the old floor know our names
If I’ve become somebody steady
It’s because you showed me how to stand
[Bridge]
And when the room grows quiet
And the years move past the frame
I’ll keep your voice beside me
Like a light that knows my name
No matter where life carries me
No matter what I lose
The first song that ever held me
Will always sound like you
[Final Chorus]
Come dance with me, Mama Ludy
One slow turn, then one more round
Every little mercy you gave me
Still keeps my feet upon the ground
Come dance with me, Mama Ludy
Let the old floor know our names
I am all the love you planted
And I’ll carry it through every day
[Outro]
Mama Ludy, stay close to me
One more turn, so tenderly
Mama Ludy, I understand
You gave me heart, you gave me hands