[Intro]
What's your mama's name, child?
What's your mama's name?

[Verse 1]
Thirty some-odd years ago, a young man came to Memphis
Askin' 'bout a rose that used to blossom in his world
People never took the time to mind the young man's questions
Until one day they heard him ask a little green-eyed girl

[Chorus]
What's your mama's name, child? What's your mama's name?
Does she ever talk about a place called New Orleans?
Has she ever mentioned a man named Buford Wilson?
What's your mama's name, child? What's your mama's name?

[Verse 2]
Twenty some-odd years ago, a drunk down in Memphis
Lost a month of life and labor to the county jail
Just because he asked a little green-eyed girl a question
And offered her a nickel's worth of candy if she'd tell

[Verse 3]
A year and some-odd days ago, an old man died in Memphis
Just another wayward soul the county had to claim
Inside the old man's ragged coat, they found a faded letter
It said, "You have a daughter and her eyes are Wilson green"
[Chorus]
What's your mama's name, child? What's your mama's name?
Does she ever talk about a place called New Orleans?
Has she ever mentioned a man named Buford Wilson?
What's your mama's name, child? What's your mama's name?

[Outro]
What's your mama's name, child?
What's your mama's name?