The horns in the fog could be heard if not seen,
Helping to guide the blind in a dream.
And down by the seashore, a banquet she gave
She was feeding and needing a soul she could save.

[Chorus]
Mama lion, mama lion, I'm starting to sink
Beneath the sunshine and the icicles
In the things that you think.

There's a hole in my destiny
And I'm out on the brink
Mama lion, mama lion
She bounces off the boulders, she runs on the rocks
She's taking her time from her grandfather clocks.
And over the border, and down on the land
She's living in the future
And it lies in her hand

[Chorus]


Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings

Mama Lion Lyrics as written by Nash

Lyrics © Spirit Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Mama Lion song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

1 Comment

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    This may be a song about Joni Mitchell, with whom Graham Nash had a relationship at one time. There are various clues in the lyrics. Some refer to Joni's song, "I'd like to see you sometime," and there's a reference to her song Banquet from the album For The Roses. There are other clues in these lyrics, surely, and maybe some Joni fans might be able to spot them.

    The lyric, "hole in my destiny" may be that he and Joni were not meant to be as a couple. The live version of this song on an album called "Crosby-Nash Live" (1977) is really great and high energy!

    Deepdivingon December 23, 2022   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Album art
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.