Unsung heroes no more: Watch Eagle Scout moms get their due

Aren’t Scout moms the greatest? Every den meeting led, patch sewed, ride provided, skinned knee doctored, smelly shirt washed, campout attended and advice dished out reinforces the point that Scouting wouldn’t exist without them.

And few of the boys who make it to the Eagle Scout rank do so without a mom or motherly figure in their lives. I know I never would’ve earned Eagle without mine.

So isn’t it time we gave Eagle Scout moms a proper thanks?

That’s what the creators of the LDS church’s “A Century of Honor” celebration in Salt Lake City must have thought when they wrote “Ma, You Earned Your Eagle,” a song that celebrates the “ever-faithful mom.”

As the name implies, the song acknowledges that although the young man wears the badge and medal, his mother’s Eagle Scout journey deserves its own celebration.

Follow the jump to watch the comical-but-touching performance and find the song’s lyrics.

“Ma, You Earned Your Eagle” lyrics

Hey Mama, I can still recall

That day you came back from the mall

And showed me that brown shirt all fresh and new.

You told me I would soon become

An Eagle Scout, your only son;

I didn’t know that you would be one too!

CHORUS

Ma, you earned your Eagle,

No one can disagree.

Ma, you earned your Eagle,

But they gave the badge to me.

When I became a young Boy Scout

I wondered, “What’s it all all about?”

But you made sure I knew the things to do.

You told me I should be prepared.

I didn’t tell you I was scared,

‘Cause the only one who was prepared was you.

CHORUS

Ma, you earned your Eagle,

No one can disagree.

Ma, you earned your Eagle,

But they gave the badge to me.

We’ve hiked and cooked, and made a mess.

Do you feel tired? Well, more or less,

But never once have I heard you complain.

Even when I blew the kitchen up,

Or tried to sing, or launched the pup,

My ever-faithful mom you still remain.

Well, once I build a fire out back.

‘Bout gave you a heart attack,

But I assured “It’s all under control.”

But then you heard the sirens roar

And came back running out the door

To see that we forgot “stop, drop, and roll.”

CHORUS

Ma, you earned your Eagle,

No one can disagree.

Ma, you earned your Eagle,

But they gave the badge to me.

So now you know about a lot of things

You never knew before,

Like geode rocks and stinky socks

And boys who eat, then eat some more–Yum!

You’ve crammed all twelve of us in your van,

With tents, and packs, and cans of Spam

And headed for the hills out on a drive,

But packed in there with smelly boys,

And traffic jams, and lots of noise,

You’re only glad you made it out alive.

Ma, you earned your Eagle

No one can disagree.

Ma, you earned your Eagle,

And I wanna say thanks,

But I don’t know how.

So I wrote this song just to tell you now:

I’m glad we earned our Eagle,

Somehow!

You just earned your Eagle!


H/T to Bill Steele for the idea and to Sean Mobley for posting the video online


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.