I wish I'd known the man a little better that turned my mama on
He must have been a heck of a man 'cause mama was a lady, don't you know

Mama was no prude but she was proper, never wore her dress too short
She didn't care if he did, but she'd have never taken a drink
Grandma Kate did the best she could to see mama grew up right
She'd be fitting one day for court and to wear some gentleman's ring

I wish I'd known the man a little better that turned my mama on
He was always laughing and singing the right sweet song
I wish I'd known the man a little better that turned my mama on
He must have been a heck of a man 'cause mama was a lady, don't you know

I hear he came to town one day in a rusty old '49 Ford
Selling lady's shoes and assorted greeting cards
He was killing good looking and easy to like and turning all the ladies heads
But he saw mama first and Lord knows how some of them traveling men are

I wish I'd known the man a little better that turned my mama on
He was always laughing and singing the right sweet song
I wish I'd known the man a little better that turned my mama on
He must have been a heck of a man 'cause mama was a lady, don't you know

Mama seemed to forget the things that Grandma Kate had always told her
She ran away one night with a traveling man
They bought gas at Rita's truck stop and drove to Dasota County
But he brought her home with a ring upon her hand

Mama's told me how the fever took him when I was barely 5
But I remember him pitching me up and catching me
And I love to sit and listen to her, "Tell me about my daddy"
She said, "He thought the sun would surely rise and set in me"

I wish I'd known the man a little better that turned my mama on
He must have been a heck of a man 'cause mama was a lady, don't you know
I wish I'd known the man a little better that turned my mama on
He must have been a heck of a man 'cause mama was a lady, don't you know