Lyrics to
Motherless Children

This version of Motherless Children was released by Lucinda Williams in 1979.

Our Lucinda Williams Songs profile has Motherless Children lyrics from 1979 and most if not all of the lyrics by Lucinda Williams that we have here at Decade Lyrics.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Lucinda Williams or about the 1970s in general.

Motherless children
Have a hard time
When their mother’s dead
Motherless children
Have a hard time
When their mother’s dead

Wanderin’ round
From door to door
They don’t have
No place to go
Motherless children
Have a hard time
When their mother’s dead

Some people say
Your sister will do
When your mother’s dead
Some people say
Your sister will do
When your mother’s dead

Some people say
Your sister will do
Soon as she marries
Turn her back on you
Motherless children
Have a hard time
When their mother’s dead

Some people say
Your auntie will do
When your mother’s dead
Some people say
Your auntie will do
When your mother’s dead

Some people say
Your auntie will do
Make a start
Then prove untrue
Motherless children
Have a hard time
When their mother’s dead

Your husband may do
The best he can
When your mother’s dead
Your husband may do
The best he can
When your mother’s dead

Your husband may do
The best he can
But your husband
Don’t understand
Motherless children
Have a hard time
When their mother’s dead

Jesus will be
A father to you
When your mother’s dead
Jesus will be
A father to you
When your mother’s dead

Jesus will be
A father to you
Through pain and sorrows
He’ll lead you through
Motherless children
Have a hard time
When their mother’s dead

Motherless children
Have a hard time
When their mother’s dead
I say motherless children
Have a hard time
When their mother’s dead

Wanderin’ round
From door to door
They don’t have
No place to go
Motherless children
Have a hard time
When their mother’s dead

Motherless children
Have a hard time
When their mother’s dead

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Lucinda Williams has released many songs over the years besides Motherless Children. Lucinda Williams released songs from 1979 to 2007 spanning across albums like Ramblin', Happy Woman Blues, Lucinda Williams, Sweet Old World, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, Essence, and West. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Lucinda Williams.

If you're a fan of the music of the 1970s looking for more songs from 1979 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Motherless Children by Lucinda Williams

The lyrics to Motherless Children are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that Lucinda Williams used when the song was created in 1979. The lyrics to Motherless Children have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only Lucinda Williams and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to Motherless Children by Lucinda Williams. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Motherless Children" means the words set to the music of Motherless Children, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Lucinda Williams. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Motherless Children and the lyrics to Motherless Children are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Lucinda Williams who came here looking just for the lyrics to Motherless Children, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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