If you’ve read any of my other musical musings, no doubt, you’ve discovered…I am a true music nerd.  I love to know the why behind the song.  It’s like a quest for me.  I should be on Pinterest, researching recipes to feed my family or learning how to live frugally, but instead, I am in dire need of knowing anything and everything about some obscure tune that I am consumed with at the moment.

Which brings me to, Pink Floyd’s “Mother.”

My second husband (I’ve only had two) was a musician.  He was just as much a music nerd as I was.  It’s what brought us together.  But it wasn’t enough for us to stay together, because work must get done, bills must be paid, kids have to be fed…it can’t all be about the music all of the time.  I mention him because he introduced me to artists and groups I’d previously loathed. I was not a fan of Pink Floyd.  I couldn’t understand why ANYONE would like Pink Floyd?  I guess the acid-droppers of the world may like them, but certainly not me!

And then I listened to Dark Side of the Moon, in its entirety, start to finish.  And I understood what the hype was about.  I didn’t have to drop acid to understand it was one of the best albums of all time. I wanted more.  More Floyd!  After learning much about Dark Side of the Moon, I began researching The Wall.

And I realized…I’d never even seen the film, The Wall.  It just so happened in that time frame of my need to know, there was a special screening at a local art house theater.  I watched the movie and I got it. (I know, readers…it seems that I say that a lot…but there’s no other way for me to express it to you…I got it!)  And now, you are shaking your heads, because…duh, the title is The Wall.  But I’d never really put 2 and 2 and 4 and 4 together.  The entire concept album is about the walls we erect in life…based on the fears instilled in us by our parents, the media, the government, schools, friends, etc.  And in my head, it was like the intro for their song, “Time”…Bells.  Alarms. Chimes. I finally got it!

So after watching the movie, I listened to the album again.  The song “Mother” stood out most as I was able to relate to the lyrics.  I was raised by an overprotective mother.  A mother who lived in a perpetual state of fear that something bad was going to happen to me.  “Don’t take ballet, you’ll break a bone in your foot and be maimed for life.” “Don’t drive on the highways, because you’ll be hurt or killed in a wreck.  Just go the long way.”  “Avoid left turns, most accidents happen when people are trying to turn left.” It went on and on and on.  She infected me with all of her fears.  Luckily, I developed an immunity to most of them, courtesy of my dad’s genes.  But nonetheless, I deeply understood what Roger Waters was saying in the song, “Mother”

My favorite lyric, “Mama’s gonna keep you right here under her wing.
She won’t let you fly, but she might let you sing”  So beautifully profound.

And David Gilmour’s guitar solo gives me chills.  It does not matter how many times I hear it, that solo always elicits a strong emotional response. (It’s off subject, but my youngest son’s middle name is Gilmour, after the man himself)  “Mother” has been covered by many artists, such as: Sinead O’Connor, Pearl Jam and even Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks.  But the original stands in front.

And of course, mama’s going to help build the wall….