Oh, she's tender but she's tough
And still willing to love
If there's a man, man enough to be her man
But right now her hands are full
Fighting back the tears and the wolves
But she keeps smiling just as hard as she can
She's twenty-nine and holding
The world on her shoulders
They're all counting on mama
And she ain't about to let them down
Oh, there's no time to worry about turning thirty
When you're twenty-nine and holding
The world on your shoulders
Yes, the one who she once loved
Just didn't have the guts
To be a lover or father or much of a man
Yeah, he just had to have his space
So she put him in his place
Out in the road with his suitcase in his hand
As she's twenty-nine and holding
The world on her shoulders
And they're all counting on mama
And she ain't about to let them down
There's no time to worry about turning thirty
When you're twenty-nine and holding
The world on your shoulders
Well, it's the kids and it's the job
It's the kitchen and it's the mop
Hey, it's the life of a woman that's on her own
And Lord, I just gotta say
That we all ought to be ashamed
If our biggest trouble is just turning old and gray
When you know she's twenty-nine and holding
The world on her shoulders
They're all counting on mama
And she ain't about to let them down
Oh, there's no time to worry about turning thirty
When you're twenty-nine and holding
The world on your shoulders
She's twenty-nine and holding
The world on her shoulders
