Verse:
I was conceived in the back of a baby blue El Camino
I was born in a little club a just outside of Reno
Daddy fancied himself a gambler, mama worked those casinos
And here I am

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Chorus:
Only met the man the one time and he was gone
To try his luck in Atlantic City without us hangers on
Mama couldn’t help but to feel ashamed, yeah she took all the blame
Because that’s what mamas do

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Verse:
Grandpa preached the gospel, that whole fire and brimstone sham
By 16 mama had had enough and out the door she ran
She grew up on the streets, she had demons to defeat
And she beat them good

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Verse:
She still has that car, it sits on the back lawn
She said it’s all I have to leave you when I’m dead and gone
And as if it were on queue, the wind caught that tarp, I saw baby blue
And couldn’t help but smile

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Chorus:
She said we’re just pawns of someones grander plans
You can’t own a thing unless you can hold it in both your hands
Mama could have made me study that bible
instead she just played me Simple Man

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Bridge:
If you don’t learn some swagger son, you ain’t never gonna get you none
And you owe me a bunch of grand babies someday
She taught me how to dance to the sounds of The Rolling Stones and Mr. James Brown
And we danced til the daylight burned that night away
Yeah, it still feels like yesterday

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Chorus:
She said we’re just pawns of someones grander plans
You can’t own a thing unless you can hold it in both your hands
If you ever hurt a woman, I’ll come back and haunt you where you stand
Mama could have made me study that bible
instead she just played me Simple Man