Mother (John Lennon song)
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| "Mother" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Band | ||
| from the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band | ||
| Released | 1970 | |
| Format | 7" vinyl | |
| Recorded | 1970 | |
| Genre | Rock/Pop | |
| Length | 3:53 | |
| Writer(s) | John Lennon | |
| Producer(s) | Phil Spector, John Lennon and Yoko Ono | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Band singles chronology | ||
| "Instant Karma!" (1970) |
"Mother" (1970) |
"Power to the People" (1971) |
Mother is a song by British musician John Lennon taken from Lennon's 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. An edited version of the song was released as a single in 1970. This version later appeared on Lennon's 1975 compilation Shaved Fish, as well as on the 1997 compilation Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon. The b-side features "Why" by Yoko Ono.
Though the song is called "Mother" is actually a cry to both of his parents, who "abandoned" him in his childhood - Father Alf Lennon left the family when John was an infant, and mother Julia died when her son was only 17. In this song Lennon bemoans the loss of his parents singing things like "Mother, you had me/but I never had you"; "Father, you left me/but I never left you"; "I needed you/you didn't need me"; and "Mother, don't go/Daddy come home". It is one of several songs which Lennon wrote for his mother. Others include "Julia" and "My Mummy's Dead". The song begins with the sound of a church bell ringing ominously, signifying death.
Lennon was inspired to write the song by a period of using Primal therapy, which works on the assumption that the patient has several defences which must be stripped down to reveal the "real person". Lennon's wife Yoko Ono worked on this with Dr. Arthur Janov, originally at their home at Tittenhurst Park for a period of three weeks and then at the Primal institute, California where they remained for four months. Lennon described the therapy as "something more important to me than The Beatles."[1]
Other songs born out of this period of therapy include "Working Class Hero" and "Isolation".
[edit] External links
- Live performance by John Lennon, 30 August 1972
