Perhaps it is the color of the sun cut flat   And coverin' the crossroads I'm standing at   Or maybe it's the weather or something like that   But mama you've been on my mind      I mean no trouble, please don't put me down, don't get upset   I am not pleading or saying I can't forget you   I do not face the floor bowed down and bent but yet   Well mama you've been on my mind      Even though my eyes are hazy and my thoughts they might be narrow   Where you've been don't bother me or bring me down in sorrow   I don't even mind who you'll be waking with tomorrow   But mama, you're just on my mind      I am not askin' you to say words like yes or no   Please understand me, I have no place, I'm callin' you alone   I'm just whispering to myself so I can pretend that I don't know   Mama you're just on my mind, well mama you're just on my mind      When you wake up in the mornin' and baby you look inside your mirror   You know I won't be next to, you know, I won't be near   I'd just be curious to know if you can see yourself as clear   As someone who has had you on his mind