Safety Mama (11-20-31) - Bessie Smith

Let me tell you how and why what no-good man done to me He called me pretty, young and wild, after that he let me be He’d taken advantage of my mouth, and that you understand

So, wait a while, show you, chile, just how to treat a no-good man

Make him stay at home, wash and iron,

Tell all the neighbors he done lost his mind

Give your house rent shake

On Saturday night

Monday morning you’ll hold collectors good and tight

You see a man you really like

Let him bite that monkey, brother, in his back

When his cruel heart turn, his love breaks down

Hold him where you got him make him stay in town,

'cause I’m a safety woman, lookin' for a safety man

Make him stay at home, help me wash and iron,

The neighbors know he done lost his mind

I give a house rent shake on Saturday night

Monday morning I held collectors good and tight

I seen a man I really like

I let him bite that monkey, brother, smack in his back

When his cruel heart turn, his love breaks down

I hold it where I had it and he stayed in town,

I’m a safety woman, and I had to have a safety man

I ain’t good lookin', I’m built for speed

I’ve got ev’rything a pigmeat needs

'Cause I’m a safety woman, lookin' for a safety man