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I don't know how I'm gonna tell you
I can't play with you no more
I don't know how I'm gonna do what mama told me
My friend the boy next door
I can't believe what people saying
You're gonna let your hair hang down
I'm satisfied to sit here working all day long
You're in the darker side of town
And when I'm out I see you walking
Why don't your eyes see me?
How could it be you've found another game to play?
What did mama say to me?
That's the way
Oh, that's the way it ought to be
Mama say that's the way it ought to stay, yeah, yeah, oh oh
And yesterday I saw you standing by the river
And weren't those tears that filled your eyes
And all the fish that lay in dirty water dying
Had they got you hypnotized?
And yesterday I saw you kissing tiny flowers
But all that lives is born to die
And so I say to you that nothing really matters
And all you do is stand and cry
I don't know what to say about it
When all you ears have turned away
But now's the time to look and look again at what you see
Is that the way it ought to stay?
That's the way
That's the way it oughta be
Oh don't you know now
Mama said, mama said, that's the way it's gonna stay, yeah, oh oh
I can't play with you no more
I don't know how I'm gonna do what mama told me
My friend the boy next door
I can't believe what people saying
You're gonna let your hair hang down
I'm satisfied to sit here working all day long
You're in the darker side of town
And when I'm out I see you walking
Why don't your eyes see me?
How could it be you've found another game to play?
What did mama say to me?
That's the way
Oh, that's the way it ought to be
Mama say that's the way it ought to stay, yeah, yeah, oh oh
And yesterday I saw you standing by the river
And weren't those tears that filled your eyes
And all the fish that lay in dirty water dying
Had they got you hypnotized?
And yesterday I saw you kissing tiny flowers
But all that lives is born to die
And so I say to you that nothing really matters
And all you do is stand and cry
I don't know what to say about it
When all you ears have turned away
But now's the time to look and look again at what you see
Is that the way it ought to stay?
That's the way
That's the way it oughta be
Oh don't you know now
Mama said, mama said, that's the way it's gonna stay, yeah, oh oh
Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by Mellow_Harsher
That's The Way Lyrics as written by Robert Plant Jimmy Page
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Yeah, I can totally relate to this song, man. Plant's lyrics are very introspective. It always brings to mind this one kid I used to know, he's in the Navy now, got accepted into the Accademy or whatever, was the salutitorian at my high school graduation, while I barely passed and had it planned to just recieve my diploma, walk out and flip off the guy who gave it to me, lol.. that never happened because I was misinformed that they would give us an empty plaque so nothing that revolutionary would happen :( lol, anyway, it's just so great how Plant completely relates to life as it is on songs like this and "Going to California," both great songs. How people grow apart, and some end up kissing tiny flowers, while others go on living straight, going "somewhere." I let my hair hang down, I walk all day long, around town.. and I just picture all these people from my childhood past saying, "mama said, mama said," I love the way this song is written. It's like he was writing a song about himself. It reminds me a lot of "People are Strange" by The Doors, being written in the same spirit, or so it seems. Long live Zeppelin.