Mama You've Been On My Mind

 

Perhaps it is the color of the sun cut flat
And coverin' the crossroads I'm standing at,
Or maybe it's the weather or something like that,
But mama you've been on my mind.

I mean no trouble, please don't put me down, don't get upset,
I am not pleading -- or saying I can't forget you.
I do not face the floor bowed down and bent but yet,
Well mama you've been on my mind.

 

Even though my eyes are hazy and my thoughts they might be narrow,
Where you've been don't bother me or bring me down in sorrow.
I don't even mind who you'll be waking with tomorrow,
But mama, you're just on my mind.

I am not askin' you to say words like yes or no,
Please understand me -- I have no place -- I'm callin' you alone.
I'm just whispering to myself so I can't pretend that I don't know:
Mama you're just on my mind.

When you wake up in the mornin' and baby you look inside your mirror,
You know I won't be next to -- You know, I won't be near.
I'd just be curious to know if you can see yourself as clear
As someone who has had you on his mind.

 

 

Top and bottom images: Jean-Antonin Injalbert, Titan Fountain, 1892, Plateau des Poetes, Beziers, France  

Second and third images, Aristide Maillol, The River, 1943, Museum of Modern Art, New York City 

Performance of Mama You've Been On My Mind by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, 11.20.75, recorded at Harvard Square Theater, Cambridge, MA.  This incredible duet performance of Bob Dylan's song, with slightly updated lyrics, is from the Rolling Thunder tour and sometimes qualifies as my favorite song and performance of all time.  It never fails to astonish on every level.