The Shirelles – Mama Said

About The Song

“Mama Said” is a blues and rhythm track by girl group The Shirelles released in April 1961, as a part of their album “The Shirelles Sing to Trumpets and Strings”. The song was written American songwriter and record producer Luther Dixon and American songwriter Willie Denson, with Dixon also producing the song.

“Mama Said” is a song about hard days in life and listening to your mother’s words when times are hard. “Mama Said” mainly addresses issues surrounding love, mainly watching others get married before you.

In its year of release, “Mama Said” charted at #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and #2 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Sides. In 2017, Billboard named the song #44 on their list of “100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time”.
“Mama Said” was a product of the Brill Building/1650 Broadway (see our interview with Toni Wine for more on that) “girl group” era, when songs were cranked out music factories in New York City. Various sources conflict, so we’ll just say that The Shirelles’ had a Shrodinger’s chance of actually being produced by Phil Spector, may have one time been in the orbit of Atlantic Records, and the song “Mama Said” was probably written by either Willie Denson, Luther Dixon, Burt Bacharach, or Hal David, or any combination thereof.

To give you an idea of how scattered music research can be, The Shirelles started out signed to Tiara Records by Florence Greenberg, who sold Tiara, Shirelles and all, to Decca Records. They then jumped to Scepter Records, also founded by Florence Greenberg, who rode Shirelles ’til her retirement when she sold Scepter to Springboard International, and then later Springboard International’s catalog was bought by Gusto Records. So that’s some five different companies you can license this song from. That’s not counting the covers by the likes of Dionne Bromfield and Amy Winehouse. We give up on trying to peg authorship on a song at this point and declare that it grew on a tree.
Of course, “Mama Said” is still very much alive and well on the radio oldies’ circuit, and has appeared in countless film and TV soundtracks, including commercials. It’s a special favorite amongst chick flicks, with its most prominent use being in the soundtrack to One Fine Day. Another memorable usage is in the second episode of the second season of the original The Tracey Ullman Show, in the sketch titled “Drugs and Guns,” in which Julie Kavner is a pharmacist bent on committing suicide after closing hours right when a robber (played by Dan Castellaneta) tries to rob the place. They end up singing it.
Amy Winehouse’s teenage goddaughter Dionne Bromfield covered the song in 2009 taking it to #43 on the UK singles chart. Two years later Winehouse’s last appearance on stage, three days before she passed away, featured her supporting Dionne in a performance of this song at London’s Roundhouse.

Video

Lyrics

Mama said there’ll be days like this
There’ll be days like this, mama said
(Mama said, mama said)
Mama said there’ll be days like this
There’ll be days like this, my mama said
(Mama said, mama said)
I went walking the other day and
Everything was going fine
Met a little boy named Billy Joe
And then I almost lost my mind
Mama said there’ll be days like this
There’ll be days like this, my mama said
(Mama said, mama said)
Mama said there’ll be days like this
There’ll be days like this, my mama said
And then she said someone would look at me
Like I’m looking at you someday
Then I might find
I don’t want you any old way but I don’t worry ‘causre
Mama said there’ll be days like this
There’ll be days like this, my mama said
(Mama said, mama said)
Mama said there’ll be days like this
There’ll be days like this, my mama said
My eyes are wide open
But all that I can see is
Chapel bells a-tollin’
For everyone but-a me but I don’t worry ’cause
Mama said there’ll be days like this
There’ll be days like this, my mama said
(Mama said, mama said)
Mama said there’ll be days like this
There’ll be days like this, my mama said
don’t you worry
(Mama said, mama said, hey, hey) don’t you worry, now
(Mama said, mama said, hey, hey)
(Mama said, mama said, hey, hey) mama said there’ll be days like this
(Mama said, mama said, hey, hey) there’ll be days like this, my mama said
(Mama said, mama said, hey, hey) mama said there’ll be days like this
(Mama said, mama said, hey, hey) there’ll be days like this, my mama said
(Mama said, mama said, hey, hey) don’t you worry