And now
Ladies and gentlemen
The keeper of the keys
The countess of the clink
The mistress of murder's row
Matron Mama Morton
Ask any of the chickies
in my pen
They'll tell you I'm the
biggest mother hen
I love 'em all
And all of them love me
Because the system works
The system called reciprocity
Got a little motto
Always sees me through
When you're good to Mama
Mama's good to you
Here's a lot of favors
I'm prepared to do
You do one for Mama
She'll do one for you
They say that life is tit for tat
And that's the way I live
So I deserve a lot of tat
For what I've got to give
Don't you know that this hand
Washes that one too
When you're good to Mama
Mama's good to you
If you want my gravy
Pepper my ragoute
Spice it up for Mama
She'll get hot for you
When they pass that basket
Folk contribute to
You put in for Mama
She'll put out for you
The folks atop the ladder
Are the ones the world adores
So boost me up my ladder kid
And I'll boost you up yours
Let's all stroke together
Like the Princeton crew
When you're strokin' Mama
Mama's strokin' you
So what's the one conclusion
I can bring this number to
When you're good to Mama
Mama's good to you