Everything seems lovely
When you start to roam.
The birds are singing the day that you stray.
But wait until you are further away.
Things won't be so lovely
When you're all alone.
Here's what you'll keep saying
When you're far from home.
Mammy, mammy,
The sun shines east,
The sun shines west,
But I know where the sun shines best.
Mammy, my little mammy,
My heartstrings are tangled around Alabamy.
I'm a'comin,
Sorry that I made you wait.
I'm a'comin,
Hope and trust that I'm not late.
Oh mammy, my little mammy,
I'd walk a million miles for one of your smiles,
My mammy.
Mammy, my little mammy.
The sun shines east
The sun shines west
I know where, I know where the sun shines best.
It's only my mammy I'm talking about.
Nobody else's.
My little mammy.
My heartstrings are tangled around Alabamy.
Mammy, mammy I'm coming!
Oh I hope I didn't make you wait!
Mammy, mammy I'm coming!
Oh Lord, I hope I'm not late!
Mammy, look at me.
Don't you know me?
I'm your little baby!
I'd walk a million miles for one of your smiles
My mammy!
"My Mammy" is a tribute sung by a man who, as a baby and child, was nurtured by a surrogate mother who supplanted the role that would have otherwise been provided by his biological mother. Mammies, were, in essence, African American nurse maids, or nannies, who cared for white children. Myriad examples of this occupation occurred during the 19th century in the United States, especially on southern plantations, where African Americans, often slaves, would perform these duties while the birth mother attended other matters such as the day-to-day management of the plantation. The affection between children and their mammies resulted in bonds equalling or exceeding that of children and their biological mothers. In the song, one such child, now an adult, is returning to his aging mammy, proclaiming his unconditional love for her, and hoping that, despite her age, that she will recognise him as her "little baby."