| Thirty some odd years ago a young man came to Memphis
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| Askin' 'bout a rose that used to blossom in his world
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| People never took the time to mind the young man’s questions
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| Until one day they heard him ask a little green eyed girl.
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| What’s your mama’s name, child, what’s your mama’s name
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| Does she ever talk about a place called New Orleans
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| Has she ever mentioned a man named Buford Wilson
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| What’s your mama’s name, child, what’s your mama’s name?
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| Twenty some odd years ago a drunkard down in Memphis
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| Lost a month of life and labored to the county jail
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| Just because he asked a little green eyed girl a question
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| And offered her a nickel’s worth of candy if she’d tell.
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| A year and some odd days ago an old man died in Memphis
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| Just another wayward soul the county had to claim
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| Inside the old man’s ragged coat they found a faded letter
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| That said you got a daughter and her eyes are Wilson green.
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| What’s your mama’s name, child, what’s your mama’s name
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| Does she ever talk about a place called New Orleans
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| Has she ever mentioned a man named Buford Wilson
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| What’s your mama’s name, child, what’s your mama’s name?
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| What’s your mama’s name child, what’s your mama’s name… |