"Mama's Broken Heart" was written by Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally and Kacey Musgraves, and is about a woman losing control after a break-up and ignoring her mother's advice on dealing with such a situation.

"Mama's Broken Heart" is a moderate uptempo song in the key of E minor[2] written by Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, and Kacey Musgraves.

The song's female narrator acts out as she struggles with a break-up, which leads people to begin taking notice of her behavior ("Word got around to the barflies and the Baptists").

When her mother finds out, she responds by scolding her daughter and telling her to regain her composure ("Run and hide your crazy and start actin’ like a lady").

The second verse states that the narrator sacrifices her "spotless reputation" in favor of "revenge," which is in contrast with the way her mother's generation handled such situations ("Where you get a grip and bite your lip just to save a little face"), but ultimately she takes matters into her own hands because "[it isn't her] mama's broken heart."

Ben Foster of Country Universe praised the track, referring favorably to its "deceptively deep" lyrics, Lambert's delivery, and an "engaging [and] off-beat arrangement."