From the recording Underneath the Florida Moon
My mother, at age 14, was given the task of driving a Model-A from the Tennessee mountains to Florida, where she fell in with the McKinney clan along the banks of the Withlacoochee River. This is a song for the women who finish the job, who raise the children against all odds.
Lyrics
Oh, the Southern Mama's
Just got to be strong
'Cause the Southern Daddy
Die's before too long
Working the pulpwood
Every day
Makes his life
Kinda' slip away
Mama keeps to herself
All the tears she's cried
She knows daddy loved her 'til the day he died
So she tries to raise the kids as best she can
Happy she was married
To a damned good man
(chorus)
All the way from the Banks of the Withlacoochee
To a share cropper's shack Up in Tennessee
You'll see the lady with the sad eyes trying
To find food and clothes for the family
Yeah, the Southern' Mama's
Just got to be strong
'Cause the Southern Daddy
Dies before too long
Then the sun is rising
It's another day
She's got work to do
She's got bills to pay
But late in the evening
She can rest a spell
And laugh at the jokes
That the children tell
Now, the South's got beauty
And the South's got soul
But it ain't got silver
And it ain't got gold
So the Southern Mama's Just got to be strong
'Cause the Southern Daddy
Dies before too long
(chorus)