. . . My Mama Done Tol’ Me, from the year 1941.
Words by Johnny Mercer.
Music by Harold Arlen.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
My mama done tol’ me
When I was in knee-pants
My mama done tol’ me
Son! A woman’ll sweet talk
And give ya the big eye
But when the sweet talkin’s done
A woman’s a two-face
A worrisome thing who’ll leave ya
T’ sing the blues in the night
Now the rain’s fallin’
Hear the train a-callin’ whoo-ee
(My mama done tol’ me)
Hear dat lonesome whistle blowin’
‘Cross the trestle, whoo-ee
(My mama done tol’ me)
A whoo-ee-duh-whoo-ee
Ol’ clickety clack’s a-echoin’ back
Th’ blues in the night
The evenin’ breeze’ll start the trees to cryin’
And the moon’ll hide its light
When you get the blues in the night
Take my word
The mockin’ bird’ll sing the saddest kind o’ song
He knows things are wrong, and he’s right
From Natchez to Mobile
From Memphis to St Joe
Wherever the four winds blow
I been in some big towns
An’ heard me some big talk
But there is one thing I know
A woman’s a two-face
A worrisome ting who’ll leave ya
T’ sing the blues in the night
May mama was right
There’s blues in the night