Tell Mama (Live, 1970)

Lyrics

[Announcer:] Janis Joplin! [Intro] Yeah, yeah Whoa, yeah [Verse 1] You thought you had found yourself a good girl One who would love you and give you the world Then you find, babe, that you've been misused Come to me, honey, I'll do what you choose [Chorus] I want you to, well, tell mama, yeah, all about it Well, tell mama what you need Tell your mama, babe, what you want Tell your mama, babe What you need, what you want What you need, what you want Whoa! and I'll make everything alright [Verse 2] Girl you had, she didn't have no sense, babe Wasn't worth all the time that you spent That same man he threw you outdoors I just heard that he quartered your clothes, hey [Chorus] Well, tell mama all about it Tell mama what you need Tell your mama, babe, what you want Tell your mama, babe What you need, what you want What you need, what you want I'll make everything alright, that I swear [Guitar solo] Whoa! Rock & roll [Verse 2] You had, she didn't have no sense, babe Wasn't worth all the time that you spent That same man he threw you outdoors I just heard that he quartered your clothes, hey [Chorus] Yeah, tell mama all about it Well, tell mama what you need Tell your mama, babe, what you want Tell your mama, babe What you need, what you want What you need, what you want Anything I can do Anything I can do for you, babe Tell mama babe, tell mama babe Tell mama babe, tell mama babe Tell mama babe, tell mama babe Tell mama babe, tell mama babe, hey [Post-Chorus] Everybody get lonely, lonely, lonely Everybody get lonely sometimes Everybody get lonely, lonely, lonely Everybody get lonely sometimes Everybody got to cry, cry, cry Everybody got Everybody got to cry, cry, cry Everybody got to cry [Breakdown] And I'll tell you, dear, if you're a woman I can only assume That you already know what you're looking for If you ever, if you were lookin', if you were lonely If you were lookin' or lonely I know what you're lookin' for And I figured it out at fourteen years old And I been lookin' for it ever since too However, if you happen to be a very young man Preferably a young man, I'll tell you what you need, man When you wake up an' it doesn't feel right, man Your head don't feel right, nothin' feels right I'll tell ya what you need You need a sweet lovin' mama, babe Sweet talkin' mama, baby You need a sweet lovin' mama, babe You need someone to listen to you Someone to talk to you, someone to hear you Someone to want you, someone to need you Someone to use you, someone to hold you Want you, talk, listen, hold you, want you, need you Hold you, need you, want you, need you, hold you Won't you need me mama, mama, mama, mama baby Hey now, mama, mama, mama, mama, baby Lord, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, baby Hey, mama, mama, mama, mama, babe [Chorus] Tell mama all about it, tell mama all about it What you need, what you want What you need, what you want Anything I can do Anything baby I can do for you Tell your mama babe Whoa mama babe, mama babe Whoa mama babe, whoa mama babe Whoa mama babe, whoa mama babe, yeah An' I'll make everything alright, yeah, hey