Mama, she wrote me a letter
Saying she's gonna be fine
Please take good care of your sister
I'll be home in three years time

Mama, it seems like forever
You've been gone since I was five
They say you were a good teacher
In the same school where I can't survive

Mama is a maid in London
I want to believe that she's fine
She could be lonely in London
I want to know
Why she had to go?
I need her, I want to be near her
I've got to be with her
And see to it that we're together once more

My English teacher she told me
She wants to be where you are
Mama, she's leaving her family
To earn all the money she wants
London, Vancouver, or Hong Kong
Governess, housekeeper, or nurse
What is to happen to all of us children
With mothers who travel so far?