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 you did but she'd never taken a drink
Grandma Kate did the best she could to see mama grew up right
So she'd be fittin' one day for courtin' and to wear some gentleman's ring
I wish I'd known the man a little better that turned my mama on
People was always laughing and sang a 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
Sellin' ladies shoes and assorted greeting cards
He was killin' goodlookin' and easy to like and turnin' all the ladies heads
But he saw mama first and Lord knows how some of them travelin' men are
I wish I'd known the man

Mama seemed to forget the things that grandma Kate had always told her
She ran away one night with that traveling man
They bought gas at Reba's Truck Stop and drove to Deseto 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 five
But I remember him pitchin' me up and catchin' me
And I love to sit and listen to her tell me about my daddy
She says she thought the sun must surely rise and set in me
I wish I'd known the man