For years when the album first came out I listened casually to the lyrics and thought it was about a new girlfriend, wife, or lover. That meaning of "mama."
But after really listening to the lyrics, I take it more literally, his wife/girlfriend has had a baby; she's a new mother. The "head in hands" might be the narrator holding his new child, cradling the tiny head in his hands. The child can be the "gift of wonders" to "open all the way." But also that gift could be the gift of the love for the "mama," whether she's a new mother or not.
For years when the album first came out I listened casually to the lyrics and thought it was about a new girlfriend, wife, or lover. That meaning of "mama."
But after really listening to the lyrics, I take it more literally, his wife/girlfriend has had a baby; she's a new mother. The "head in hands" might be the narrator holding his new child, cradling the tiny head in his hands. The child can be the "gift of wonders" to "open all the way." But also that gift could be the gift of the love for the "mama," whether she's a new mother or not.
So either way, or sort of both at once.