Mama was sixteen, barely outta school
Still learnin’ the world, still breakin’ the rules
Small-town eyes cut her down
When she pushed my stroller down Main Street town
No ring on her hand, no one to blame
Just a scared young girl and a different last name
Daddy was young with a restless soul
Said he needed time, said he needed to go
Left behind a promise he never kept
While Mama rocked me and cried herself to sleep
She never said a bad word, never said his name
Just told me “Son, life’s more than pain”
She gave me more than a boy could ask
Broke her back, never took a rest
Put her dreams on a higher shelf
So I could have more than she had herself
I owe her a lifetime, maybe two
For every hard day she pulled me through
There ain’t enough years or words to say
I could never repay her…
No, more than I could ever pay
Secondhand shoes, thrift-store jeans
Cold bologna and black-eyed peas
Homework done on a kitchen chair
While she worked late just to keep us there
She taught me how to pray, how to stand
How to look folks straight in the eye like a man
She showed up tired to every game
Cheered too loud, screamed my name
Graduation, front row seat
With tired eyes and blistered feet
I see it now, what I couldn’t then
She was raisin’ a boy while fightin’ the wind
She gave me more than a boy could ask
Worked her fingers down to the bone
Turned a broken start into a home
Never let me feel alone
I owe her a lifetime, maybe two
For every right thing I ever do
There ain’t enough years or words to say
I could never repay her…
No, more than I could ever pay
If I ever fall or lose my way
I still hear her voice say
“Get back up, son, don’t you quit
You were born for more than this”
Every good thing I am today
Was bought with love she gave away
She gave me more than this life could hold
More than silver, more than gold
If heaven’s real, I know her way
They’ll thank her for the price she paid
I owe her a lifetime, maybe two
For all the love she saw me through
There ain’t enough years or words to say
I could never repay her…
Mama, if you hear this song someday
Just know I turned out okay
Because of you…
More than I could ever pay
