Mat Kearney nació en Oregón. Mientras estudiaba Literatura en la universidad gracias a una beca deportiva (Mat jugaba al fútbol), empezó a tocar la guitarra y a componer canciones. Pero su vida disoluta y juerguista le llevó a plantearse el futuro seriamente y se acercó a la religión cristiana. Dejó la universidad, y junto con Robert Marvin, que se convertiría en su productor, atravesó el país y se estableció en Nashville en el año 2006. Allí, durmiendo en la furgoneta y, posteriormente, en un piso en condiciones miserables, compuso cuatro canciones y se dedicó a tocar en pubs y locales.
Con esfuerzo y perseverancia, Kearney ha logrado un puesto respetable. Ha salido de gira con Sheryl Crow o Keane, y sus canciones han acompañado series muy famosas en Estados Unidos como One Tree Hill, Jericho, Bones o Crónicas Vampíricas.
"Hey, mama" es el primer single de su último disco, publicado en el 2011 Young Love.
She don't know what she wants to be
With all the pictures in the magazines
Holding hands when she's mad at me
'cause she don't wanna go, don't wanna go
I met her at anthropology
Purple boots and her golden dreams
Standing there like a Tennessee queen
Singing don't look at me, don't look at me
Singing oh oh
won't you help me sing this song
Singing ee ee ee
She don't ever want to go to sleep
Singing hey mama, don't want no drama
Just a kiss before I leave
Hey lady, don't say maybe
You're the one that I can believe
Hey lover, don't want no other
finger for my ring
Hey mama, hey hey mama
Hey mama, hey hey mama
Hey mama, hey hey mama
Hey mama, hey hey mama
Oh oh
Ooh oh oh oh
Ooh oh oh oh
I can see it in her Cherokee eyes
Those baby browns and the golden thighs
What you doing for the rest of your life?
Cause you don't want, don't wanna go
Singing oh oh
won't you help me sing this song
Singing ee ee ee
She playing like a mystery
Singing hey mama, don't want no drama
Just a kiss before I leave
Hey lady, don't say maybe
You're the one that I can believe
Hey lover, don't want no other
finger for my ring
Hey mama, hey hey mama
Hey mama, hey hey mama
Hey mama, hey hey mama
Hey mama, hey hey mama
Oh oh
Ooh oh oh oh
Ooh oh oh oh
Couldn't be more opposite
I'm hard to please and you're hard to get
You're Mississippi and I'm Oregon
You're sun tanned and I'm porcelain skinned.
Singing hey mama, don't want no drama
Just a kiss before I leave
Hey lady, don't say maybe
You're the one that I can believe
Hey lover, don't want no other
finger for my ring
Hey mama, hey hey mama
Hey mama, hey hey mama
Hey mama, hey hey mama
Hey mama, hey hey mama
Oh oh
Ooh oh oh oh
Ooh oh oh oh