Her suede vocals convince us that she is resisting change, doesn't want to leave her old life behind for a new one, and yearns for the days when everything seemed safer and simpler, but "Mama Said" also conveys a deep longing with the instruments themselves, something not easily, and rarely, accomplished. The song heavily features soulfully slow slide guitar patterns, which, in combination with steady acoustic guitar strums and bare-bones percussion, just bleed an aura of wistfulness. If this track were just an instrumental, the feeling and message would remain intact, although Cat's lyrics and melodic vocal instrumentation surely enhance and intensify the clarity in which we see into her desire to stay right where she is: likely in the woods, playing guitar, without concern for the world of power, money, and progress.
