When Mama Prayed Song Lyrics and Chords by Randy Travis
When Mama Prayed
Recorded by Randy Travis
Written by Paul Overstreet and Rory Lee
C
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Daddy never
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went to church on
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Sunday
He said that's one
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thing I'll never
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do
But
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mama never gave up she said
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one
day
He'll be
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Em
Fm
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Gm
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Am
A#m
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Cm
C#m
sitting here
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beside me and
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you
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I can still hear
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mama softly
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talking
With her tears falling
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on her folded
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hands
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So that Easter Sunday Daddy
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E
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walked
in
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Em
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Gm
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Am
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Bm
Cm
C#m
That's when I
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began to under
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stand
When mama
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
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Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
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Gm
G#m
prayed
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A
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good things
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E
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happen
G7
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B7
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D7
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E7
F7
F#7
When mama
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
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Gm
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prayed
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A
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B
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lives were
G7
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D7
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changed
Not much
Am
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Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
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Gm
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more than five foot
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tall
But
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E
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mountains big and
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small
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
crumbled all
G7
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A7
A#7
B7
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D7
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E7
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away
When mama
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
prayed
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A
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B
C
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Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
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A
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B
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E
G7
G#7
A7
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B7
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D7
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E7
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Seventeen and
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wild I hit the
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bottle
Doing any
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thing I dang well
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pleased
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Burning down life's highway at full
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throttle
While
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Em
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Am
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C#m
mama burned a
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candle on her
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knees
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Then one night
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I came home half
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sober
I saw mama
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kneeling in the
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den
As I
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listened she and Jesus talked it
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over
And I
Dm
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Em
Fm
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Am
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knew my restless
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days were 'bout to
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end
When mama
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
prayed
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A
A#
B
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good things
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E
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happen
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
When mama
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
prayed
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
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E
lives were
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
changed
Not much
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
more than five foot
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
tall
But
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E
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F#
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G#
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A#
B
mountains big and
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G
G#
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A#
B
C
C#
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small
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
crumbled all
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
away
When mama
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
prayed
F
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G
G#
A
A#
B
C
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D
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E
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
It isn't like every one of them got
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answered
But the
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times they weren't it seems to me were
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rare
You
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
almost felt sorry for the
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B
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devil
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Cause
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
heaven knows he
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didn't have a
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D#7
E7
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F#7
prayer
When mama
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
prayed
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
Not much
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
more than five foot
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
tall
But
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
mountains big and
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
small
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
crumbled all
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
away
When mama
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
prayed
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
They
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
crumbled all
G7
G#7
A7
A#7
B7
C7
C#7
D7
D#7
E7
F7
F#7
away when mama
Am
A#m
Bm
Cm
C#m
Dm
D#m
Em
Fm
F#m
Gm
G#m
prayed
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G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
FAQ
Who sang the the song When Mama Prayed?
- The song When Mama Prayed was sang by Randy Travis.
Who is Randy Travis?
- Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor.Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recorded 20 studio albums and charted more than 50 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including sixteen that reached the No. 1 position. Considered a pivotal figure in the history of country music, Travis broke through in the mid-1980s with the release of his album Storms of Life, which sold more than four million copies. The album established him as a major force in the neotraditional country movement. Travis followed up his successful debut with a string of platinum and multi-platinum albums. He is known for his distinctive baritone vocals, delivered in a traditional style that has made him a country music star since the 1980s.
By the mid-1990s, Travis saw a decline in his chart success. In 1997, he left Warner Bros. Records for DreamWorks Records and then for Word Records, where he began recording more Christian material. Although the career shift produced only one more number-one country hit "Three Wooden Crosses", Travis went on to earn several Dove Awards, including Country Album of the Year five times. Since his stroke, which severely limited his singing and speaking ability, he has released archival recordings and made limited public appearances. In addition to his singing career, he pursued an acting career, appearing in numerous films and television series, including The Rainmaker (1997) with Matt Damon, Black Dog (1998) with Patrick Swayze, Texas Rangers (2001) with James Van Der Beek, National Treasure 2 (2007) and seven episodes of the Touched by an Angel television series.
Travis has sold over 25 million records and has won seven Grammy Awards, six CMA Awards, eleven ACM Awards, 10 AMA Awards, eight GMA Dove Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2016, Travis was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.