Mama You've Been On My Mind / A Fraction of Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie

Perhaps it's the color of the sun cut flat
And coverin' the crossroads I'm standin' at
Or maybe it's the weather or somethin' like that
But Mama, you've been on my mind

I don't mean trouble, please don't put me down or get upset
And I am not pleadin' or sayin' I can't forget you
I do not walk the floor bowed down or bent but yet
Mama, you've been on my mind

And even though my mind is hazy, and my thoughts, they might be loud
Where you've been don't bother me or bring me down in sorrow
It don't even matter where you're wakin' up tomorrow
'Cause mama, you'll be on my mind

Well, I'm not askin' you to say words like 'yes' or 'no'
Please understand me, I have no place I'm callin' you to go
I'm just whisperin' to myself, so I can pretend that I don't know
But mama, you've been on my mind

When you wake up in the mornin', baby, look inside your mirror
You know I won't be next to you, you know I won't be near
I'd just be curious to know if you can see yourself as clear
As someone who has had you on his mind

It's when your head gets twisted or your mind grows numb
You think you're too old, too young, too smart, too dumb
Laggin' behind or you're losin' your pace
In a slow-motion crawl of life's busy race

No matter what you're doin', if you start givin' up
If the wine don't come to the top o' your cup
Wind's got you sideways, one hand holdin' on
The other starts slippin' and the feeling is gone

And your train engine fire needs a new spark to catch it
Wood's easy findin', but you're lazy to fetch it
Lonesome comes up as down goes the day
And tomorrow's mornin' seems so far away

And you can feel the reins from your pony are slippin'
And your hands are a-slidin', rope is a-drippin'
Your sidewalk starts crawlin' and your street gets too long
And you start walkin' backwards, but you know this is wrong

Sunny deserts and your evergreen valleys
Turn to broken down slums and trashcan alleys
Your sky cries water and your drain pipe's a-pourin'
Lightning's a-flashin' and your thunder's a-crashin'

Windows are rattlin' and breakin'
And your rooftop, well, it starts shakin'
And your whole world's all slammin' and bangin'