"That's My Ma" lyrics - SHEB WOOLEY

Some years ago my ma and pa set up housekeeping on a little hillside farm
And started raisin' cotton and kids
When they first moved into the old place
They figured some day they'd build a new house up on the hill there
But it seemed every year there was a new baby
And they just never got far enough ahead for that new house
Lord knows it wasn't because they didn't work hard
One of the first things I can remember
Is my ma pickin' cotton with a young'un ridin' on her pick sack
As a matter of fact there for about five or six years
Ma had a young'en on her pick sack every fall
Another thing I remember about ma
Is how she used to scrub our clothes on a rubboard
With water she carried up from the well and heated over a wood fire
And soap she made herself from fatback and bacon rinds from hogs she'd help feed
And on those Saturday nights the roads got a little crooked
And pa'd come home with the wrong kind of load
Ma didn't go lookin' for a lawyer to get her a divorce
In the first place ma didn't know about any lawyer
And in the second place she didn't want a divorce anyhow
Ma would always say a hard workin' man 's gotta let off a little steam
Besides it was about time for her to start thinkin'
About what us kids were goin' to wear to Sunday School next morning
Friends you can talk about what it takes to hold a family together
But in our case it was my ma
Ma was not much for being seen in public speaking her mind
She let pa think that he ruled with an iron hand but she stole a little bit of his glory
With that extra litte pat she'd give us as she'd shoot us off to bed
By the way she tucked the covers around us later
When she was sure we were sound asleep
Things have changed an awful lot since than
I've been lucky enough to get started in the entertainment field
I thank God for having been born in a country where the lowlest farm boy
Can reach for the moon and at least get a glimpse of it
I read somewhere that behind every great man there's a woman
And I figure if I ever was to do anything great
I'd be proud to give the credit to the finest woman I've ever known
And that's my ma