Cat Cylde Debuts Acoustic Version of “Mama Said”

The phrase “Mama Said” has been a cornerstone of great songwriting for almost 60 years, utilized by artists as varied as Metallica, Lukas Graham, LL Cool J, Lenny Kravitz and most importantly The Shirelles, implementing the term in a veritable coffee bar of flavorful sounds and significances. 

Toronto Blues singer Cat Cylde joined this elite company in 2015 when she recorded her own “Mama Said” for her album Ivory Castanets. It’s a song channeling the uneasiness and wonder of a child and her mom embarking on a life changing adventure that remains quite resonant five years later as many Americans find themselves venturing into the unknown of an unprecedented time in our country’s history.

Today, American Songwriter is happy to premiere the acoustic version of “Mama Said”, the first single from her forthcoming LP Good Bones. It’s an album composed of songs from Ivory Castanets and and 2019’s excellent Hunters Trance, and scheduled for release on June 19th.  Before COVID-19, Cylde had been quite the road warrior, touring with the likes of She has also toured with artists such as J.S. Ondara, ZZ Ward, and the legendary Australian rocker Paul Kelly across North America, while opening for Shakey Graves on their sold-out tour across Europe in 2018.

“I have been doing solo tours for the past three years, playing this song more than any other, just me and my guitar,” Cylde tells American Songwriter. “I really wanted to capture that vibe of the song and have a timestamp recording for all the time I’ve played it so far.”

Good Bones will also include a book of poems the singer has written through the years, and will be available as part of a bundle package along with a vinyl copy of the album. Preorders of Good Bones will also receive an immediate download of “Mama Said.”

So far, Cylde and her distinctive brand of Cowboy Junkies-esque honky tonk blues has amassed over 30 million streams worldwide. She should easily see that number multiply itself quite generously based on the strength of this stirring, stripped down version of what will go down as one of her most famous songs.