I wish I`d known the man
A little better that turned my mama on
He musta been a heck of a man
Cause Mama was a lady
Don't ya know?

Mama was no prude
But she was proper
Never wore her dress too short
She didn`t care if you did
But she`d have never taken a drink

Grandma Kate did the best
She could to see Mama grew up right
So she`d be fitting one day
For courting and to wear some gentleman`s ring

I wish I`d known the man
A little better that turned my mama on
He was always laughing
And sang a bright sweet song

I wish I`d known the man
A little better that turned my mama on
He musta been a heck of a man
Cause Mama was a lady
Don't ya know?
I hear he came to town one day
In a rusty old '49 Ford
Selling ladies' shoes
And assorted greeting cards

He was killer good looking
And easy to like
And turning all the ladies' heads
But he saw Mama first
And Lord knows how some of them traveling men are

I wish I`d known the man
A little better that turned my mama on
He was always laughing
And sang a bright sweet song

I wish I`d known the man
A little better that turned my mama on
He musta been a heck of a man
Cause Mama was a lady
Don't ya know?

Mama seemed to forget the things
That Grandma Kate had always told her
She ran away one night with the traveling man
They bought gas at Rita's Truck Stop
And drove to DeSoto County
But he brought her home with a ring upon her hand

Mama`s told me how the fever took him
When I was barely five
But I remember him pitching me up and catching me

And I love to sit and listen to her
Tell me about my daddy
She says he thought the sun
Must surely rise and set in me

I wish I`d known the man
A little better that turned my mama on
He musta been a heck of a man
Cause Mama was a lady
Don't ya know?

I wish I`d known the man
A little better that turned my mama on
He musta been a heck of a man
Cause Mama was a lady
Don't ya know?