...I'M LIVIN' IN SHAME... by The Supremes
-------------------------................

*from 'Love Child' (1968)*


Intro:

D, Dmaj7, D7, G

A

Verse 1:

Am
 Mama was cookin' bread,
F
 She wore a dirty raggedy scarf,
  C
A-round her head,
               Em
Always had her stockings low,
Rolled to her feet;
     G
Just didn't know.

Verse 2:

           Am
She wore a sloppy dress,
      F
Oh no matter how she tried,
           C
She always looked a mess,
           Em
Out of the pot she ate,
                       G
Never used a fork or a dinner plate.

Bridge 1:

Bm            A7
 I was always so afraid,
                        D
My uptown friends would see her.
Bm                   A7
 Afraid one day when I was grown,
             D
That I would be her.

Interlude:

F#

Verse 3:

     Bm
In a college town,
  G
A-way from home,
          D
An identi-ty I found,
           F#m
That I was born elite,
With maids and servants,
A
 At my feet.

Verse 4:

            Bm
I must have been insane,
  G
I lied and said mama died,
             D
On a weekend trip to Spain.
    F#m
She never got out of the house,
           A
Never even boarded a train.

Bridge 2:

Bm                  A7
 Married a guy, was living high,
                     D
I didn't want him to know her.
    Bm              A7
She had a grandson, two years old,
                  D
That I never even showed her.

Chorus 1:

D              Dmaj7
 I'm living in shame,
        D7        G, Gm
Mama, I miss you.

D                     Dmaj7
 I know you're not to blame,
        D7       G, Gm
Mama, I miss you.

Interlude:

F#

Break:

Em  A, C  D, G

Verse 5:

         Am
Came the telegram;
F
 Mama passed away,
             C
While making home made jam.
   Em
Be-fore she died she cried,
          G
To see me by her side.

Verse 6:

           Am
She always did her best,
   F
Ah cooked and cleaned,
                  C
And always in the same old dress.
Em
 Working hard, down on her knees,
       G
Always trying to please.

Bridge 3:

Bm
 Mama,
A7
 Mama,
D
 Mama can you hear me?

Bm
 Mama,
A7
 Mama,
D
 Mama can you hear me?

*KEY CHANGE*
------------

Chorus 3:

Eb             Ebmaj7
 I'm living in shame,
        Eb7       G#, G#m
Mama, I miss you.

Eb                       Ebmaj7
 I know you've done your best,
        Eb7       G#, G#m
Mama, I miss you.

Coda:

              Eb
Won't you for-give me mama,
            Ebmaj7
For all the wrong I've done?
              Eb7
I know you've done your best,
   G#            G#m
Oh I know you've done,
         Eb
The very best you could,
                   Ebmaj7
Mama I thought you understood...

(Fade)


CHORD DIAGRAMS:
---------------

   D      Dmaj7    D7      G       A

 EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE
 xx0232  xx0222  xx0212  320003  x02220

   Am      F       C       Em      Bm

 EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE
 x02210  133211  032010  022000  x24432

   A7      F#      F#m     Gm      Eb

 EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE
 x02223  244322  244222  355333  6654xx

  Ebmaj7   Eb7     G#      G#m

 EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE  EADGBE
 x68786  x68686  466544  466444


Tabbed by Joel from cLuMsY, Bristol, England, 2007
(clumsyband@hotmail.com)