Mammie delivered me into this world Mammie watched my mama die at my birth And Mammie she loved me she took me to raise Mammie was all I had on this earth
Let's get in the firewood, I'd hear Mammie say Let's go to the spring before it gets dark And you do up the dishes while the water's still hot And don't throw that dishwater out in the yard
Oh Mammie taught me how to sing a song She taught me to play her old guitar And at night before bedtime we'd sing for hours As the teakettle whistled along on the fire
And at night as I laid alone in my bed I'd hear Mammie praying and each night she said Oh dear God help me raise her to know right from wrong And I pray she'll do right even after I'm gone.
I'd wait until Mammie had fallen asleep Then out of my window I'd quietly sneak And I'd wait by the mill pond according to plans And there in the darkness I'd meet a man
Oh it's not that I wanted to bring Mammie shame I just couldn't control wild blood in my veins They tell me my mama could not name my dad So I guess it was natural for me to be bad
One night I awoke at the sound of my name Come quickly, I heard Mammie cry She said you be good and I told her I would and That night I watched as my Mammie died
All I have now are the memories of Mammie And the goodness that loving her brought me Although she is gone in my heart she lives on And I know how much good she taught me.
