breathy, almost whispered)
Eh… eh…
Nyaa-ya… oooh…
Mama eh… ndziii…
Hmm… hmm…
[Verse 1]
They told me your name in whispers
Like it carried too much weight
A photograph with faded edges
And questions I couldn’t say
I grew up learning how to be strong
But never learned your voice
I learned the world without your arms
Was a choice I never had a choice
(soft ad-libs: “eh-yeh… chaii… oooh mama…”
[Pre-Chorus]
I hear you in the silence
When the night gets too loud
I wonder if you see me now
If you’re proud
background hums: “mmm-mmm… eh-eh…”
[Chorus – Call & Response]
You’re the mother I never knew
Never knew… but we feel you
But I feel you in everything I do
In everything… every step…
In my walk, in my pain, in the way I survive
Survive… survive… eh-yaaa
In the fire that keeps me alive
Alive! Alive! Mm-yaa!
I didn’t get your lullabies
Didn’t feel your hands when I cried
Ohhh… mama eh…
But somehow you still live in my soul
You’re the love I was born to know
Born to know… born to know… eh-yeeeh!
African ad-libs layered: “ndzii-ya… haa-haa… oooh-yaaa…”
[Verse 2]
They say time heals, but time just teaches
How to smile through hidden pain
Every prayer felt unfinished
Every tear without a name
I learned to mother my own heart
When nights refused to end
I grew myself from broken places
Still wondering where you been
ad-libs: “chaii… eh mama… ndzii ndzii…”
[Pre-Chorus 2]
Sometimes I talk to the sky
Like you’re listening somewhere near
Somewhere near…
If love can cross the line of death
Then I know you hear
We know… we know…
[Chorus – Gospel Lift]
You’re the mother I never knew
But your spirit raised her
But I feel you in everything I do
Every breath! Every move!
In my walk, in my pain, in the way I survive
Survive—eh-ya! Survive!
In the fire that keeps me alive
Alive! Alive! Alive!
African shouts: “yaa-yaa! eh-eh! mama-eh!”
[Bridge – Spoken Gospel Moment]
(music drops)
I didn’t touch your hands
But they shaped me
I didn’t hear your voice
But it guards me
Absence didn’t erase you
It made you holy
whispers: “holy… holy…”
[Final Chorus]
You’re the mother I never knew
But you live in everything I do
In my walk, in my pain, in the way I survive
In the fire that keeps me alive
I didn’t get your lullabies
Didn’t feel your hands when I cried
But somehow you still live in my soul
You’re the love I was born to know
massive ad-libs: “ndzii-yaa! eh-yeeeh! mama-ohhh!”
[Outro – Fade]
Mama eh…
Nyaa-ya…
I’m still standing…
Because of you…
fade chants: “oooh-ya… ndzii… hmm…”
