Perhaps it's the color of the sun cut flat
An' cov'rin' the crossroads I'm standing at
Or maybe it's the weather or something like that
But mama, you been on my mind

I don't mean trouble
Please don't put me down or get upset
I am not pleadin' or sayin', "I can't forget"
I do not walk the floor bowed down an' bent, but yet
Mama, you been on my mind

An' even though my mind is hazy
An' my thoughts they might be narrow
Where you been don't bother me
Nor bring me down in sorrow

It don't even matter where you're wakin' up tomorrow
'Cause mama, you'll be on my mind

Well I'm not askin' you to say words
Like 'Yes' or 'No'
Please understand me
I have no place I'm callin' you t' go

Just whisperin' to myself
So I can't pretend that I don't know
But mama, you been on my mind
When you wake up in the mornin'
Baby, look inside your mirror
You know I won't be next to you
You know I won't be near

I'd just be curious to know
If you can see yourself as clear
As someone who has had you on his mind

---------------

It's when yer head gets twisted or yer mind grows numb
You think you're too old, too young, too smart, too dumb
Laggin' behind or losing yer pace
In a slow-motion crawl of life's busy race
No matter what yer doing if you start givin' up
If the wine don't come to the top of yer cup
Wind's got you sideways, one hand holdin' on
The other starts slipping and the feeling is gone
And yer train engine fire needs a new spark to catch it
Wood's easy findin' but yer lazy to fetch it
Lonesome comes up as down goes the day
And tomorrow's morning seems so far away
And you can feel the reins from yer pony are slippin'
And yer hands are a-slidin', rope is a-drippin'
Your sidewalk starts crawlin' and your streak is too long
And you start walkin' backwards but you know this is wrong
Sunny deserts and your evergreen valleys
Turn the broken-down slums and trashcan alleys
Your sky cries water and your drain pipes are pourin'
Lightning’s a-flashin' and your thunder’s a-crashin'
Windows are rattlin' and breakin'
And your rooftop, well it starts shakin'
And your whole world is all
Slammin' and bangin'