Mama Tried

Intro

Mm

Mm-hmm

Yeah

Verse 1

Seventeen when she had me

Still a kid herself

Playing mother and a father

With nobody there to help

I watched her fight her own shadow

Every single night

Locked the bathroom door behind her

Told me it was fine

Pre-Chorus

And I learned young how to carry

Weight that wasn't mine

Learned to read a quiet room

Before I learned to read a line

Chorus

Mama tried to raise me right

While she was going under

Mama tried to hold me close

And pull herself back up

I ain't blaming her for nothing

I just promised me one thing

I'm gon' climb out of this

Even if it breaks my hands

Post-Chorus

(Ooh) I'm gon' make it out

(Ooh) I'm gon' make it out

Verse 2

She would cry into the kitchen sink

I'd pretend I couldn't hear

Folded all her broken pieces

Stacked them somewhere far from fear

So I started chasing better

Started running from the same

Every grade every dollar

Was a war against her name

Pre-Chorus

And I learned young how to carry

Weight that wasn't mine

Learned to read a quiet room

Before I learned to read a line

Chorus

Mama tried to raise me right

While she was going under

Mama tried to hold me close

And pull herself back up

I ain't blaming her for nothing

I just promised me one thing

I'm gon' climb out of this

Even if it breaks my hands

Post-Chorus

(Ooh) I'm gon' make it out

(Ooh) I'm gon' make it out

Bridge

I was raised by a hurricane

And a heart that wouldn't quit

She gave me everything she had

And I still needed more than it

So I built myself a ladder

Out of all the things she lost

And I climb it every morning

No matter what it cost

Chorus

Mama tried to raise me right

While she was going under

Mama tried to hold me close

And pull herself back up

I ain't blaming her for nothing

I just promised me one thing

I'm gon' climb out of this

Even if it breaks my hands

Outro

Mm

I'm gon' make it out

Mm-hmm