Mama – English Lyrics

• By: Spice Girls
• Album: Spiceworld

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the heartfelt pop ballad "Mama" by the Spice Girls, a globally cherished anthem that beautifully articulates the complex yet ultimately loving journey between mothers and their children. Through its tender lyrics and melodic charm, this song offers a relatable narrative of growing up, understanding, and appreciating maternal love, making it an excellent and emotionally resonant piece to connect with the English language and its cultural expressions.

[English]

("Mama" by Spice Girls)

♪ She used to be my only enemy and never let me free ♪

♪ Catching me in places that I knew I shouldn't be ♪

♪ Every other day I crossed the line ♪

♪ I didn't mean to be so bad ♪

♪ I never thought you would become the friend I never had ♪

♪ Back then I didn't know why ♪

♪ Why you were misunderstood ♪

♪ So now I see through your eyes ♪

♪ All that you did was love ♪

♪ Mama I love you ♪

♪ Mama I care ♪

♪ Mama I love you ♪

♪ Mama my friend ♪

♪ You're my friend ♪

♪ I didn't want to hear it then ♪

♪ But I'm not ashamed to say it now ♪

♪ Every little thing you said and did was right for me ♪

♪ I had a lot of time to think about ♪

♪ About the way I used to be ♪

♪ Never had a sense of my responsibility ♪

♪ Back then I didn't know why ♪

♪ Why you were misunderstood ♪

♪ So now I see through your eyes ♪

♪ All that you did was love ♪

♪ Mama I love you ♪

♪ Mama I care ♪

♪ Mama I love you ♪

♪ Mama my friend ♪

♪ You're my friend ♪

♪ You're my friend ♪

♪ And loving you and loving me ♪

♪ And love that's true and guaranteed ♪

♪ And loving you and loving me ♪

♪ And love that's true and guaranteed ♪

♪ And loving you and loving me ♪

And love that's true and guaranteed

And loving you and loving me

And love that's true and guaranteed

♪ And loving you and loving me ♪

♪ And love that's true and guaranteed ♪

(audience applauding)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
enemy /ˈɛnəmi/ B1	noun - a person who opposes or is hostile to someone
free /friː/ A2	adjective - not under control or not confined; able to act without restriction
catch /kætʃ/ B1	verb - to capture or seize
place /pleɪs/ A2	noun - a particular position or area
cross /krɒs/ B1	verb - to go across or over
line /laɪn/ A2	noun - a long narrow mark or band
bad /bæd/ A1	adjective - not good; undesirable
friend /frɛnd/ A1	noun - a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection
misunderstood /ˌmɪsʌndərˈstʊd/ B2	verb - to interpret or perceive incorrectly adjective - not correctly understood
see /siː/ A1	verb - to perceive with the eyes
eyes /aɪz/ A1	noun - organs of sight
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - deep affection or strong feeling of attachment verb - to feel deep affection for someone
care /kɛər/ A2	verb - to feel concern or interest
ashamed /əˈʃeɪmd/ B2	adjective - feeling guilt or embarrassment
guarantee /ˌɡærənˈtiː/ C1	verb - to promise something with assurance noun - a formal assurance that certain conditions will be fulfilled
true /truː/ B1	adjective - accurate, genuine, or faithful to fact
responsibility /rɪˌspɒnsɪˈbɪlɪti/ B2	noun - the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something
think /θɪŋk/ A2	verb - to have thoughts or ideas; to consider
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the indefinite continued progress of existence and events

Key Grammar Structures

• She used to be my only enemy

  ➔ Used to (past habitual state/action)

  ➔ “used to be” describes a state that was true in the past but is no longer. Here, it indicates that she was an enemy in the past.

• and never let me free

  ➔ Let + object + bare infinitive

  ➔ This structure means to allow someone to do something. “let me free” means she didn't allow the speaker to be free.

• Catching me in places that I knew I shouldn't be

  ➔ Defining Relative Clause with Modal Verb (shouldn't)

  ➔ The clause “that I knew I shouldn't be” defines “places” and uses “shouldn't” to express a past obligation or advice that was not followed.

• I never thought you would become the friend I never had

  ➔ Would for Past Prediction/Hypothetical Result (in reported speech context)

  ➔ “would become” is used here to express a past prediction or expectation about a future event from a past perspective, often following a verb like “thought.”

• Why you were misunderstood

  ➔ Passive Voice within an Indirect Question

  ➔ “were misunderstood” is in the passive voice (subject receives the action). It's part of an indirect question (“Why you were misunderstood”) which reports a question without using question word order.

• All that you did was love

  ➔ All-Clause Construction (Cleft Sentence Variant)

  ➔ This structure emphasizes the single most important thing done. “All that you did” acts as the subject, followed by “was” and the complement “love.”

• But I'm not ashamed to say it now

  ➔ Adjective + to-infinitive

  ➔ This structure describes the reason for or the object of the adjective's feeling or state. “ashamed to say” indicates what the speaker is not ashamed of doing.

• Every little thing you said and did was right for me

  ➔ Implied Relative Clause

  ➔ After “thing,” the relative pronoun “that” or “which” is omitted but understood. The clause “you said and did” describes “Every little thing.”

• I had a lot of time to think about

  ➔ Infinitive of Purpose

  ➔ The infinitive “to think” explains the purpose or reason for “had a lot of time.”

• And loving you and loving me

  ➔ Gerunds as Nouns (Parallel Structure)

  ➔ “Loving you” and “loving me” are gerunds acting as nouns, describing the actions themselves. They are used in a parallel structure to list related concepts.