My mother used to whore herself And my father Would reap the benefits of her labor It was almost as if she was absent Absent from her own life I remember She would scrub the floors for the white folks Just to come home To cook and to clean For the man who broke her And i love to watch her dance to the tunes on The soul stations, yeah Just to ease her mind
But my mother She was vindictive in her own fashion So she passed down to me her traits Like that of her brown eyes and her dark hair She passed down to me Her sadness
Make me wanna holler The sadness fills my heart Make me wanna holler Make me wanna holler Make me wanna holler Baby Make me wanna holler
My child will one day ask me What will i be? As a child i promised myself I'd never be Like my mother or my father I would ask myself, "did he feel so much pain That it would make him wanna hurt another?"
But there was no excuse There was no excuse to make up for the pain That i knew my mother felt
But somewhere my destiny came That i too became a slave, to my heart Wanting love so badly That i'd do anything No matter the shame
Make me wanna holler I... Love me Make me wanna holler Tell me Make me wanna holler Mmm, so sorry Make me wanna holler So sorry
Why? I never got the nerve To ask my father "why?" But my mother She would say, She stayed for my brother and myself But i would have sold my soul Just to share in one day Of my mother's desired happiness
When night fell Sometimes when night fell I'd close my eyes And i'd hide Close your eyes When they would yell and scream When my father would paint her With a dark face Of being belittled, disrespected And set aside His liquor, the salve For the unseen wounds
I learned so much from him What did i learn? How to hurt all of those Who try to get too close
Make me wanna holler Make me wanna holler Sometimes i get so... Make me wanna holler I just don't understand Why? Make me wanna holler Tell me why Mmm, so sorry So sorry for the pain Make me wanna holler So sorry
I'm so sorry Explain for me Play for me
She would close her eyes and cry He would close his heart and hide She would close her eyes and cry
After all this time Nothing's changed
Make me wanna holler Make me want to holler Yes i do Make me wanna holler Sell my soul just to see ya happy So sorry for the pain Make me wanna holler So sorry, so sorry, so sorry, yeah Make me wanna holler So sorry for the pain
I always thought my mother Deserved so much more But i never knew how to fix that I drown myself in guilt I just don't know what to do No Mama i love you.