Mother (John Lennon song)
Encyclopedia
Mother is a song by British
musician John Lennon
, first released on his 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
. An edited version of the song was issued as a single
in the United States
on Apple Records
, catalogue 1827, about three weeks after the album. The single runs about fifteen seconds shorter than the album due to a lack of the tolling bells intro and a quicker fadeout. The B-side
features "Why" by Yoko Ono
.
left the family when John was an infant; his mother Julia
, didn't live with her son although they had a good relationship, was hit and killed in a car accident on 15 July 1958 by a drunk, off-duty policeman named Eric Clague, when Lennon was 17. Lennon relives the loss of his parents with lyrics such as "Mother, you had me/but I never had you"; "Father, you left me/but I never left you".
"Mother" begins with the sound of a funeral church bell ringing ominously, signifying death.
Lennon was inspired to write the song after undergoing primal therapy
with Dr. Arthur Janov
, originally at their home at Tittenhurst Park
and then at the Primal Institute, California
, where they remained for four months. Lennon, who eventually derided Janov, initially described the therapy as "something more important to me than The Beatles
."
Although Lennon said that "Mother" was the song that "seemed to catch in my head," he had doubts about its commercial appeal and he considered issuing "Love
" as a single instead. "Love" was eventually released as a single in 1982.
recorded "Mother" (as well as Lennon's "Love") on her 1971 album Barbra Joan Streisand
and was a single as well. The song was also featured on the Lennon's live album Live in New York City
, released by Yoko Ono after his death. Other songs born out of this period of therapy include "Working Class Hero
" and "Isolation
". Shigesato Itoi
, creator of the Mother
video game series, stated in an interview that this song was in large part the inspiration for his naming of the series. Mia Martini
recorded in 1972 this song in Italian
, with the title literally translated as "Madre". Maynard Ferguson
recorded the song on his 1972 album M.F. Horn Two
. Shelby Lynne
covered this song for her 2001 album Love, Shelby
, with the added resonance of her tragic family history. (Lynne's father, an abusive alcoholic, shot and killed her mother and then himself when Lynne was 17.) Christina Aguilera
covered the song in 2007 for the benefit album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur
, and Emmanuel Jal's version was available on that album as an iTunes
exclusive bonus track.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
musician John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, first released on his 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was received with high critical praise upon release. Critic Greil Marcus remarked, "John's singing in the last verse of 'God' may be the finest in all of rock." In early 1971, the album reached number eight on the UK and went to number six in the US, spending eighteen...
. An edited version of the song was issued as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on Apple Records
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
, catalogue 1827, about three weeks after the album. The single runs about fifteen seconds shorter than the album due to a lack of the tolling bells intro and a quicker fadeout. The B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
features "Why" by Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
.
Conception
"Mother" is actually a cry to both his parents, who abandoned him in his childhood. His father AlfAlfred Lennon
Alfred "Alf" Lennon was the father of English musician John Lennon. He spent many years in an orphanage—with his sister, Edith—after his father died. He was known as being very witty and musical throughout his life—he sang and played the banjo—but not as being very dependable...
left the family when John was an infant; his mother Julia
Julia Lennon
Julia Lennon was the mother of English musician John Lennon, who was born during her marriage to Alfred Lennon. After complaints to Liverpool's Social Services by her eldest sister, Mimi Smith , she handed over the care of her son to her sister...
, didn't live with her son although they had a good relationship, was hit and killed in a car accident on 15 July 1958 by a drunk, off-duty policeman named Eric Clague, when Lennon was 17. Lennon relives the loss of his parents with lyrics such as "Mother, you had me/but I never had you"; "Father, you left me/but I never left you".
"Mother" begins with the sound of a funeral church bell ringing ominously, signifying death.
Lennon was inspired to write the song after undergoing primal therapy
Primal therapy
Primal therapy is a trauma-based psychotherapy created by Arthur Janov, who argues that neurosis is caused by the repressed pain of childhood trauma. Janov argues that repressed pain can be sequentially brought to conscious awareness and resolved through re-experiencing the incident and fully...
with Dr. Arthur Janov
Arthur Janov
Arthur Janov is an American psychologist, psychotherapist, and the creator of primal therapy, a treatment for mental illness that involves repeatedly descending into, feeling, and expressing long-repressed childhood pain. Janov directs a psychotherapy institute called the Primal Center in Santa...
, originally at their home at Tittenhurst Park
Tittenhurst Park
Tittenhurst Park was the home of John Lennon and Yoko Ono from the late summer of 1969 until August 1971, and then the home of Ringo Starr and family until the late-1980s. It is located on a 72-acre estate in London Road, Sunningdale, near Ascot, Berkshire SL5 0PN, England, close to the Surrey...
and then at the Primal Institute, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where they remained for four months. Lennon, who eventually derided Janov, initially described the therapy as "something more important to me than The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
."
Although Lennon said that "Mother" was the song that "seemed to catch in my head," he had doubts about its commercial appeal and he considered issuing "Love
Love (John Lennon song)
"Love" is a song written and performed by John Lennon, originally released in 1970 on the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album.-Song:The song first came out on Lennon's 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. "Love" later appeared on the 1982 compilation The John Lennon Collection, and was released...
" as a single instead. "Love" was eventually released as a single in 1982.
Other versions
Barbra StreisandBarbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
recorded "Mother" (as well as Lennon's "Love") on her 1971 album Barbra Joan Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand (album)
Barbra Joan Streisand is an album by Barbra Streisand, released in August, 1971 on Columbia Records.- Chart and sale :The album reached #11 on Billboard's Pop Albums Chart and was certified Gold by the RIAA.-Track listing:Side One:...
and was a single as well. The song was also featured on the Lennon's live album Live in New York City
Live in New York City
Live in New York City is a posthumous live album by John Lennon. It was prepared under the supervision of his widow, Yoko Ono, and released in 1986 as his second official live album, the first being Live Peace in Toronto 1969.-Performances:...
, released by Yoko Ono after his death. Other songs born out of this period of therapy include "Working Class Hero
Working Class Hero
"Working Class Hero" is a song from John Lennon's first post-Beatles solo album, 1970's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.-Theme:The song is a take on the class split of the 1940s and 1950s, and of the 1960s in which he was famous. The song appears to tell the story of someone growing up in the working...
" and "Isolation
Isolation (John Lennon song)
"Isolation" is a 1970 song appearing on John Lennon's first official solo album release, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.-Personnel:The musicians who performed on the original recording were as follows:*John Lennon – vocals, piano, organ...
". Shigesato Itoi
Shigesato Itoi
is one of the most influential cultural figures in Japan, known for his copywriting, essays, lyrics, Nintendo game creation, and as editor-in-chief of his popular website “Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun.” He is best known outside of Japan as a game designer for his work on Nintendo's EarthBound...
, creator of the Mother
EarthBound (series)
EarthBound, known in Japan as Mother, is a role-playing game series created by Shigesato Itoi for Nintendo. The series started in 1989 with the Japan-only release of Mother for the Famicom, and was then followed up by a sequel, released in North America as EarthBound for the Super NES in 1995, and...
video game series, stated in an interview that this song was in large part the inspiration for his naming of the series. Mia Martini
Mia Martini
Mia Martini was an Italian singer.-Early life:Born Domenica Bertè in 1947 in Bagnara Calabra , she moved to Rome with her sister and her friend Renato Zero.-Career:She recorded her first records as Mimì Berté, but she soon decided to change her name to Mia...
recorded in 1972 this song in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, with the title literally translated as "Madre". Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...
recorded the song on his 1972 album M.F. Horn Two
M.F. Horn Two
M.F. Horn Two is a 1972 big band jazz album by Maynard Ferguson. It features cover versions of many songs that were popular in the years leading up to its production, including: "Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes, "Country Road" by James Taylor, "Mother" by John Lennon , "Spinning Wheel" by David...
. Shelby Lynne
Shelby Lynne
Shelby Lynne is an American singer, songwriter and actress. The success of the 1999 album I Am Shelby Lynne led to her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, even though she had been active in the music industry for some time...
covered this song for her 2001 album Love, Shelby
Love, Shelby
Love, Shelby is the seventh studio album by Shelby Lynne, released on November 13, 2001 on Island Records. The follow-up to her acclaimed I Am Shelby Lynne, this album found Lynne collaborating with producer Glen Ballard, who became widely known for his work producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged...
, with the added resonance of her tragic family history. (Lynne's father, an abusive alcoholic, shot and killed her mother and then himself when Lynne was 17.) Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
covered the song in 2007 for the benefit album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur is a compilation album of various artists covering songs of John Lennon to benefit Amnesty International's campaign to alleviate the crisis in Darfur...
, and Emmanuel Jal's version was available on that album as an iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
exclusive bonus track.
Personnel
The musicians who performed on the original recording were as follows:- John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
– vocals, piano - Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
– drums - Klaus VoormannKlaus VoormannKlaus Voormann is a German Grammy Award-winning artist, noted musician, and record producer. He designed artwork for many bands including The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Wet Wet Wet and Turbonegro. His most notable work as a producer was his work with the band Trio, including their worldwide hit "Da Da...
– bass