'Bout ten years old, hide and seek
I found me in the closet
Ready or not I stumbled on

And opened up that box of
Yearbooks, letters, black and whites
A hundred, maybe more

Next thing I know my brothers and me
Got 'em scattered on the floor (Yeah)


There was one of her, flippin' the bird
Sittin' on a Harley
And a few with some hairy hippie dude

Turns out his name was Charlie
Her hair, her clothes, her drinkin' smokin'
Had us boys confused

I'll never forget the day us nosey kids got introduced

To Mama, 'fore she was Mama

In a string bikini, in Tijuana
Won't admit she smoked !@!@&&
But I saw Mama, 'fore she was Mama


We put that box right where it was
And never said a word

But growin' up got hard just tryin'
Not to picture her
In anything but aprons, dresses

Mini-vans and church
Oh and Daddy would have whooped our butts
For diggin' up that dirt


On Mama, 'fore she was Mama
In a string bikini, in Tijuana

She won't admit she smoked !@!@&&
But I saw Mama, 'fore she was Mama


We laugh and hang it over her head
Right above her halo
Her face turns red when we bring up

That tie-dyed Winnebago
She runs and hides and still denies
That hip high rose tattoo

She burned that box of forget-me-nots
When she found out we knew


About Mama, 'fore she was Mama
In a string bikini, in Tijuana
Won't admit she smoked !@!@&&

But that was Mama, 'fore she was Mama

And there's that one down in the Bahamas

But that was Mama, 'fore she was Mama