Story Behind The Song
Unruly teen sets out to find himself in
the world and falls in with the crowd
his mother warned him about, and he learns the hard way how to straighten out his life.
Song Description
Teen learns the value of life the hard
way in this coming of age subject matter song.
| Song Length |
7:02 |
Genre |
Rock - Americana, Latin - Rock |
| Tempo |
Medium Fast (131 - 150) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
Outraged, Restless |
Subject |
Judgement, Protest |
| Similar Artists |
Aerosmith, Santana |
Language |
English |
| Era |
1950 - 1959 |
| |
Lyrics
[INTRO][1st VERSE] MY MAMA TOLD ME SON YOU BETTER WATCH YOUR P'S AND Q'S. BETTER LEARN TO READ 'N WRITE, BOY {AND}
LIVE BY THE GOLDEN RULE. READ THAT GOOD BOOK EV'RY DAY, {AND}KEEP IT CLOSE AT HAND. {CAUSE}SON, THERE MIGHT BE DAYS 'N NIGHTS ON END {WHEN YOU'LL NEED A} FRIEND {AND NOBODY'S GONNA} [BRIDGE] BE THERE FOR YA. YOU'LL BE ALL A LONE. BE THERE FOR YA. STRANDED IN A TWILIGHT ZONE. OUT THERE WANDRIN' IN THE NIGHT. FEELIN' HALF DEAD {OR} BARELY ALIVE. EEKIN' SALVATION {FROM A} DEVIL'S SPELL[CHORUS] WAY TOO FAR FROM HEAVEN,BUT {Break} TOO DAMN CLOSE TO HELL. [INTRO][2nd VERSE]{WELL} I DIDN'T LISTEN TO MAMA, I HAD MY OWN WAY. SOME PEOPLE GOTTA FACE THE TRUTH {AND}LEARN IT ALL THE HARD WAY. I FELL IN WITH A ROUGH, BAD BUNCH {BUT} WHEN THAT JUDGE SAID "SON, MAYBE LIFE, BREAKIN' ROCKS {IN THE}HOT-HOT SUN", {WELL I RE} MEMBER MAMA TELLIN' ME, AIN'T NO-BODY LIKE ME {GONNA}[Repeat BRIDGE/CHORUS][Guitar SOLO][3rd VERSE]{WELL} I GOT LUCKY {THAT} JUDGE DECIDED, PROBATION ENOUGH. {SO}I WENT HOME {CLEANED} UP MY ACT, {AND}NOW THE YEARS HAVE FLOWN. I GOTTA TEENAGED SON OF MY OWN {AND HE}SAYS HE'S WANTIN TO ROAM. {SO}I SAT HIM DOWN {AND I} SET HIM STRAIGHT, {WITH THE}WORDS MY MAMA TOLD ME; AIN'T NO-BODY LIKE ME {GONNA}[Repeat Bridge/Chorus][Repeat INTRO]
{TAG last Chorus line}[OUTTRO JAM]