Mother (John Lennon song): Difference between revisions

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“”’Mother”'” is a song by the English 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 (music)|single]] in the United States on [[Apple Records]], on 28 December 1970.<ref name=Diary>{{cite book|editor1=Miles, Barry |editor2=Badman, Keith |title=The Beatles Diary After the Break-Up: 1970–2001 |year=2001 |publisher=Music Sales Group |location=London |isbn=9780711983076 |edition=reprint |page=19}}</ref> The single edit runs 1:41 shorter than the album due to its quicker fade-out and removal of the tolling bells that start the song. The [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] features “[[Why (Yoko Ono song)|Why]]” by [[Yoko Ono]]. The song peaked in the United States at number 19 on the ”[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]” Top 100<ref name=Listen326>{{cite book|last=Blaney|first=John|title=John Lennon: Listen to This Book|year=2005|publisher=Paper Jukebox|location=[S.l.]|isbn=978-0-9544528-1-0|edition=illustrated|page=326}}</ref> and number 43 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|”Billboard” Hot 100]].<ref name=Listen326/> In [[RPM (magazine)|Canada]] the song reached number 12.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.3760.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles – February 13, 1971}}</ref>

“”’Mother”'” is a song by the English 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 (music)|single]] in the United States on [[Apple Records]], on 28 December 1970.<ref name=Diary>{{cite book|editor1=Miles, Barry |editor2=Badman, Keith |title=The Beatles Diary After the Break-Up: 1970–2001 |year=2001 |publisher=Music Sales Group |location=London |isbn=9780711983076 |edition=reprint |page=19}}</ref> The single edit runs 1:41 shorter than the album due to its quicker fade-out and removal of the tolling bells that start the song. The [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] features “[[Why (Yoko Ono song)|Why]]” by [[Yoko Ono]]. The song peaked in the United States at number 19 on the ”[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]” Top 100<ref name=Listen326>{{cite book|last=Blaney|first=John|title=John Lennon: Listen to This Book|year=2005|publisher=Paper Jukebox|location=[S.l.]|isbn=978-0-9544528-1-0|edition=illustrated|page=326}}</ref> and number 43 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|”Billboard” Hot 100]].<ref name=Listen326/> In [[RPM (magazine)|Canada]] the song reached number 12.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.3760.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles – February 13, 1971}}</ref>

==Background==

====

The lyrics of “Mother” address both of Lennon’s parents, each of whom abandoned him in his childhood.<ref name=farout>{{cite web|title=The Story Behind The Song: John Lennon’s heart-wrenching ‘Mother’|author=Taysom, Joe|publisher=Far Out|accessdate=2024-01-24|date=28 December 2020|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/john-lennon-mother-story-behind-song/}}</ref> His father, [[Alfred Lennon|Alf]], left the family when Lennon was an infant.<ref name=farout/> His mother, [[Julia Lennon|Julia]], did not live with her son, although they had a good relationship; she was killed in a car accident on 15 July 1958 by an off-duty policeman named Eric Clague when Lennon was 17.<ref name=farout/> In one of his last concerts, Lennon stated that the song was not just about his parents, but was rather “about 99% of the parents, alive or half dead”.<ref>{{cite book|first=Peter|last=Doggett|title=The Art And Music of John Lennon|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|location=London, England|year=2009|isbn=9780857121264}}</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2020}}

The lyrics of “Mother” address both of Lennon’s parents, each of whom abandoned him in his childhood.<ref name=farout>{{cite web|title=The Story Behind The Song: John Lennon’s heart-wrenching ‘Mother’|author=Taysom, Joe|publisher=Far Out|accessdate=2024-01-24|date=28 December 2020|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/john-lennon-mother-story-behind-song/}}</ref> His father, [[Alfred Lennon|Alf]], left the family when Lennon was an infant.<ref name=farout/> His mother, [[Julia Lennon|Julia]], did not live with her son, although they had a good relationship; she was killed in a car accident on 15 July 1958 by an off-duty policeman named Eric Clague when Lennon was 17.<ref name=farout/> In one of his last concerts, Lennon stated that the song was not just about his parents, but was rather “about 99% of the parents, alive or half dead”.<ref>{{cite book|first=Peter|last=Doggett|title=The Art And Music of John Lennon|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|location=London, England|year=2009|isbn=9780857121264}}</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2020}}

⚫
“Mother” opens the album with a funeral bell tolling four times. The song with Lennon repeating the phrase ””Mama don’t go, daddy come home”” as the fades out.{{Cite book |last1=Urish |first1=Ben |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LJ9Y0YgSE1oC&pg=PA18 |title=The Words and Music of John Lennon |last2=G. Bielen |first2=Kenneth |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-275-99180-7 |page=18}}

==Music analysis==

⚫
Lennon the song after undergoing [[primal therapy]] with [[Arthur Janov]], at his home [[Tittenhurst Park]] and at the Primal Institute California, where he four months. .{{cite book |first=Ray|last=Coleman|title=Lennon: The Definitive Biography |year=1984 |publisher=Pan Publishing |location=London, England|isbn=978-0060986087}}{{ |date= }}
⚫
“Mother” opens the album with a recording of a funeral bell tolling four times. The sound was achieved by recording a church bell and slowing the tape speed to create a mournful resonance, symbolising both birth and death.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mother – John Lennon Song Details|url=https://www.beatlesbible.com/people/john-lennon/songs/mother/|publisher=The Beatles Bible|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref> The song concludes with Lennon repeating the phrase ””Mama don’t go, daddy come home”” in a series of increasingly desperate vocal deliveries, ending in a raw scream as the track fades out.{{Cite book |last1=Urish |first1=Ben |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LJ9Y0YgSE1oC&pg=PA18 |title=The Words and Music of John Lennon |last2=G. Bielen |first2=Kenneth |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-275-99180-7 |page=18}}

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 (John Lennon song)|Love]]” as a single instead.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jann|last=Wenner|author-link=Jann Wenner|title=Lennon Remembers |url=https://archive.org/details/lennonremembers00lenn|url-access=registration|year=1971 |publisher=[[Straight Arrow Press]] |location=San Francisco, California |isbn=978-1859843765 |pages=110, 112}}</ref> In November 1982, a remixed version of “Love” was released as a single to help promote ”[[The John Lennon Collection]]” LP.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Madinger|first1=Chip|last2=Easter|first2=Mark|title=Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium|publisher=44.1 Productions|location=Chesterfield, Missouri|year=2000|isbn=0-615-11724-4|pages=38–39, 576}}</ref>

⚫
Lennon wrote the song after undergoing [[primal therapy]] with [[Arthur Janov]], initially at his home in [[Tittenhurst Park]] and later at the Primal Institute in California, where he spent four months. The therapy encouraged patients to relive repressed childhood pain, which Lennon channelled directly into the composition.{{cite book |first=Ray|last=Coleman|title=Lennon: The Definitive Biography |year=1984 |publisher=Pan Publishing |location=London, England |isbn=978-0060986087}}ref> Lennon later called the process “something more important to me than [[The Beatles]]”.<ref>{{cite web|title=Behind the Song: John Lennon, “Mother”|author=John Kruth|publisher=American Songwriter|date=19 March 2020|url=https://americansongwriter.com/mother-john-lennon-story-behind-the-song/|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>

Musically, “Mother” is one of the starkest arrangements of Lennon’s solo career. The instrumentation—Lennon on piano and double-tracked vocals, [[Ringo Starr]] on drums, and [[Klaus Voormann]] on bass—reflects a stripped-down, confessional style that mirrored the therapy’s emotional exposure.<ref>{{cite web|title=Recording: Mother, Isolation – John Lennon|url=https://www.beatlesbible.com/1970/09/26/recording-mother-isolation-john-lennon/|publisher=The Beatles Bible|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref> The steady, dirge-like tempo and open piano voicings create a space where each lyric feels isolated, enhancing the sense of loneliness. According to author Ben Urish, the song’s structure moves from “ritual lament to primal outcry,” a musical embodiment of regression and release.<ref>{{cite book |last=Urish |first=Ben |title=The Words and Music of John Lennon |publisher=Greenwood Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=9780275991807 |page=19}}</ref>

Phil Spector’s co-production departs from his usual “Wall of Sound” approach. Instead of dense orchestration, Spector emphasised clarity and restraint, allowing Lennon’s voice to dominate the mix. Contemporary critics have noted that the production’s starkness anticipates later confessional singer-songwriter works, such as those by [[Neil Young]] and [[Cat Stevens]].<ref>{{cite web|title=John Lennon’s ‘Mother’: The Sound of Grief|publisher=Rock Cellar Magazine|date=4 May 2021|url=https://rockcellarmagazine.com/john-lennon-mother-4k-video-plastic-ono-band-ultimate-collection/|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>

In academic discussions, “Mother” is frequently interpreted as the emotional centrepiece of ”[[John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band]]”. Musicologist Kenneth Bielen describes it as “a sonic representation of psychic rebirth, where the tolling bells mark not only death but Lennon’s emergence from repression.”<ref>{{cite book |last1=Urish |first1=Ben |last2=Bielen |first2=Kenneth |title=The Words and Music of John Lennon |year=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Press |page=20}}</ref> Critics at ”Far Out” called it “one of the most moving creations Lennon ever concocted,” citing the screams as “not artifice but spiritual exorcism.”<ref>{{cite web|title=The Story Behind the Song: John Lennon’s heart-wrenching ‘Mother’|author=Taysom, Joe|publisher=Far Out Magazine|date=28 December 2020|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/john-lennon-mother-story-behind-song/|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>

The tension between restraint and catharsis defines the track’s structure: the controlled, minimalist accompaniment gradually succumbs to unfiltered emotion. The song’s dynamic arc—from whispered grief to open anguish—mirrors the stages of therapy itself, turning personal trauma into universal lament.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Urish |first1=Ben |last2=Bielen |first2=Kenneth |title=The Words and Music of John Lennon |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780275991807 |page=20 |quote=“‘Mother’ progresses from a ritual lament into a primal outcry, reflecting both the regression and the release central to primal therapy.”}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Taylor |first=John |title=Up Against the Wall: Primal Therapy and ‘the Sixties’ |journal=European Journal of American Studies |year=2012 |volume=7 |issue=3 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/3022 |quote=Lennon’s performance on ‘Mother’ structures the process of Janovian therapy itself, moving from suppression to cathartic vocalisation.}}</ref>

== Recording sessions ==

The recording of “Mother” took place during the sessions for ”[[John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band]]” at EMI Studios (Abbey Road), London, in September and October 1970. Lennon was joined by [[Ringo Starr]] on drums and [[Klaus Voormann]] on bass, with production by [[Phil Spector]], [[John Lennon]], and [[Yoko Ono]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Recording: Mother, Isolation – John Lennon|url=https://www.beatlesbible.com/1970/09/26/recording-mother-isolation-john-lennon/|website=The Beatles Bible|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>

The single edit, running 3:53, was created in late December 1970 by trimming the opening bell tolls and shortening the fade-out.<ref>{{cite book|last=Madinger|first=Chip|last2=Easter|first2=Mark|title=Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium|year=2000|publisher=44.1 Productions|pages=38–39}}</ref>

An early version of “Mother” performed on an [[electric guitar]] by Lennon can be heard on the ”[[John Lennon Anthology]]” box set.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.beatlesbible.com/people/john-lennon/songs/mother/|title=Mother|date=2 August 2010|work=The Beatles Bible|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref>

An early version of “Mother” performed on an [[electric guitar]] by Lennon can be heard on the ”[[John Lennon Anthology]]” box set.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.beatlesbible.com/people/john-lennon/songs/mother/|title=Mother|date=2 August 2010|work=The Beatles Bible|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref>

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A live version of the song was released ”[[Live in New York City (John Lennon album)|Live in New York City]]” from his 30 August 1972 concert at [[Madison Square Garden]].

A live version of the song was released ”[[Live in New York City (John Lennon album)|Live in New York City]]” from his 30 August 1972 concert at [[Madison Square Garden]].

{| class=”wikitable sortable”

|+ Recording details for “Mother”

! Date !! Studio !! Take numbers !! Description / Notes

|-

| 26 September 1970 || EMI Studios (Abbey Road), London || Takes 1–61 || Initial session. Lennon on piano and guide vocal; [[Ringo Starr]] (drums), [[Klaus Voormann]] (bass). Takes 9–18 were later wiped. The arrangement evolved from a slower gospel feel to a starker rock ballad. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.beatlesbible.com/1970/09/26/recording-mother-isolation-john-lennon/|title=Recording: Mother, Isolation – John Lennon|publisher=The Beatles Bible|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>

|-

| 27 September 1970 || EMI Studios || Takes 62–64 || Lennon recorded three new takes, with take 64 selected as the master for further overdubs. A second piano overdub was added for depth and resonance. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.beatlesbible.com/people/john-lennon/songs/mother/|title=Mother – John Lennon Song Details|publisher=The Beatles Bible|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>

|-

| 15–19 October 1970 || EMI Studios || Takes 91–94 (overdubs) || Lennon overdubbed additional vocals and guitar on take 94. [[Phil Spector]] supervised echo processing for the bell intro and final mix tone. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.beatlesbible.com/1970/10/17/recording-editing-mother-look-at-me-john-lennon/|title=Recording & Editing: Mother, Look At Me|publisher=The Beatles Bible|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>

|-

| 24 October 1970 || EMI Studios || Final mix || Final mixdown completed. Lennon, Ono, and Spector balanced the double-tracked vocals and the sparse instrumentation. The album version runs 5:34. <ref>{{cite book|last=Blaney|first=John|title=John Lennon: Listen to This Book|year=2005|publisher=Paper Jukebox|page=57}}</ref>

|}

==Reception==

==Reception==

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”Stereogum” contributors Timothy and Elizabeth Bracy rated it as Lennon’s 4th best solo song, saying that “Over a martial beat and insistent piano riff, the question rises inextricably: if we can be abandoned by those who made us, who in the hell can we trust? The screaming, unanswered fade out makes the answer only too clear.”<ref>{{cite web|title=The 10 Best John Lennon Songs|date=13 May 2014|last1=Bracy|first1=Timothy|last2=Bracy |first2=Elizabeth|accessdate=2023-05-03|publisher=Stereogum|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1681100/the-10-best-john-lennon-songs/lists/}}</ref> ”Far Out” critic Joe Taysom described it as “one of the most moving creations that the late musician ever concocted,” saying that Lennon “lays himself emotionally bare and finally deals with the abandonment issues that scarred him from childhood.”<ref name=farout/>

”Stereogum” contributors Timothy and Elizabeth Bracy rated it as Lennon’s 4th best solo song, saying that “Over a martial beat and insistent piano riff, the question rises inextricably: if we can be abandoned by those who made us, who in the hell can we trust? The screaming, unanswered fade out makes the answer only too clear.”<ref>{{cite web|title=The 10 Best John Lennon Songs|date=13 May 2014|last1=Bracy|first1=Timothy|last2=Bracy |first2=Elizabeth|accessdate=2023-05-03|publisher=Stereogum|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1681100/the-10-best-john-lennon-songs/lists/}}</ref> ”Far Out” critic Joe Taysom described it as “one of the most moving creations that the late musician ever concocted,” saying that Lennon “lays himself emotionally bare and finally deals with the abandonment issues that scarred him from childhood.”<ref name=farout/>

==Legacy==

“Mother” has come to be regarded as one of the defining songs of John Lennon’s solo career and a cornerstone of the confessional singer-songwriter movement that emerged in the early 1970s. The track’s raw honesty and minimal production have been cited by critics and scholars as a turning point in rock music’s emotional candour.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Story Behind the Song: John Lennon’s heart-wrenching ‘Mother’|author=Taysom, Joe|publisher=Far Out Magazine|date=28 December 2020|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/john-lennon-mother-story-behind-song/|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Behind the Song: John Lennon, “Mother”|author=Kruth, John|publisher=American Songwriter|date=19 March 2020|url=https://americansongwriter.com/mother-john-lennon-story-behind-the-song/|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>

According to musicologist Kenneth Bielen, “Mother” functioned as “a prototype of the therapeutic song,” influencing later generations of artists who used music for self-exploration and psychological healing.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Urish |first1=Ben |last2=Bielen |first2=Kenneth |title=The Words and Music of John Lennon |year=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Press |page=21}}</ref> Its stark, unembellished tone stood in contrast to the elaborate production of the late Beatles era, marking what critic Greil Marcus described as “Lennon’s first truly human sound.”<ref>{{cite book|last=Marcus|first=Greil|title=Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ’n’ Roll Music|publisher=Plume|year=2015|isbn=9780142181584|page=243}}</ref>

Retrospective reviews have consistently highlighted “Mother” as one of Lennon’s greatest achievements. In 2021, ”Rock Cellar Magazine” described the song’s remastered 4K video as “a reminder of Lennon’s radical vulnerability — a man daring to break down on record.”<ref>{{cite web|title=John Lennon: Watch ‘Mother’ Video in Reconstructed/Remastered 4K|publisher=Rock Cellar Magazine|date=4 May 2021|url=https://rockcellarmagazine.com/john-lennon-mother-4k-video-plastic-ono-band-ultimate-collection/|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>

Several artists and songwriters have cited “Mother” as an influence. [[Kurt Cobain]] of [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] listed ”John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band” as one of his most formative records, referencing “Mother” as an example of “truth without polish.”<ref>{{cite web|title=Kurt Cobain: Journals|publisher=Riverhead Books|year=2002|page=121|isbn=9781573222327}}</ref> [[Fiona Apple]] and [[Sinead O’Connor]] have both named the song as an inspiration for their emotionally open vocal performances.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Fiona Apple: On Pain and Truth in Songwriting|magazine=Mojo|date=June 2020|page=54}}</ref>

[[Lou Reed]] performed “Mother” live several times during the 1980s, including at the 1984 [[Montreux Jazz Festival]], and continued to feature the song in occasional setlists throughout his later career.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lou Reed – Mother (John Lennon cover, Montreux Jazz Festival 1984)|date=10 July 2011|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqCgVx6eFb0|publisher=YouTube|access-date=6 November 2025}}</ref>

In interviews, Reed repeatedly praised the song’s raw honesty, calling it “one of the greatest songs I ever heard.”<ref>{{cite web|title=The John Lennon song Lou Reed called the greatest he ever heard: ‘On another level’|author=Tom Taylor|publisher=Far Out Magazine|date=9 May 2024|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/john-lennon-song-lou-reed-greatest-ever/|access-date=6 November 2025}}</ref>

”Rolling Stone” included “Mother” in its 2023 list of “Lennon’s 25 Essential Solo Tracks,” praising its “unsparing realism and primal force.”<ref>{{cite magazine|title=John Lennon: 25 Essential Songs|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=9 October 2023|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/john-lennon-best-solo-songs-25-essential-tracks-1234839872/|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref> ”Pitchfork” similarly referred to it as “the song that shattered the myth of rock star invincibility,” ranking it among “the most emotionally authentic vocal performances of the twentieth century.”<ref>{{cite web|title=The Best Solo Beatles Songs|publisher=Pitchfork|date=10 October 2020|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-best-solo-beatles-songs/|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>

Music historian Peter Doggett concluded that “Mother” represents the exact moment Lennon moved from celebrity to confessor: “In a single track, he dismantled his own mythology and offered his wounds as truth.”<ref>{{cite book|last=Doggett|first=Peter|title=The Art and Music of John Lennon|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=2009|isbn=9780857121264|page=112}}</ref>

==Personnel==

==Personnel==

1970 single by John Lennon

“Mother” is a song by the English 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, on 28 December 1970.[1] The single edit runs 1:41 shorter than the album due to its quicker fade-out and removal of the tolling bells that start the song. The B-side features “Why” by Yoko Ono. The song peaked in the United States at number 19 on the Cashbox Top 100[2] and number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] In Canada the song reached number 12.[3]

The lyrics of “Mother” address both of Lennon’s parents, each of whom abandoned him in his childhood.[4] His father, Alf, left the family when Lennon was an infant.[4] His mother, Julia, did not live with her son, although they had a good relationship; she was killed in a car accident on 15 July 1958 by an off-duty policeman named Eric Clague when Lennon was 17.[4] In one of his last concerts, Lennon stated that the song was not just about his parents, but was rather “about 99% of the parents, alive or half dead”.[5][page needed]

“Mother” opens the album, starting with a funeral bell tolling slowly, four times. The song ends with Lennon repeating the phrase “Mama don’t go, daddy come home”, each time increasing in intensity until he screams the line as the song fades out.[6]

Lennon was inspired to write the song after undergoing primal therapy with Arthur Janov, originally at his home at Tittenhurst Park and then at the Primal Institute, California, where he remained for four months. Lennon, who eventually derided Janov, initially described the therapy as “something more important to me than The Beatles“.[7][page needed]

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.[8] In November 1982, a remixed version of “Love” was released as a single to help promote The John Lennon Collection LP.[9]

An early version of “Mother” performed on an electric guitar by Lennon can be heard on the John Lennon Anthology box set.[10]

The unused take 91 of the song was featured in the final scene and credits of the 2009 John Lennon biographical film, Nowhere Boy.[11]

A live version of the song was released Live in New York City from his 30 August 1972 concert at Madison Square Garden.

Cash Box said of the single version that “spare production work and a powerful melancholy vocal give the [song] its disturbing brilliance.”[12] Record World said that the “mix of psychology and Spectorsound is depressing and dynamic at once.”[13] Billboard called it a “slow rock emotion ballad” with a “compelling, biting lyric line.”[14]

Stereogum contributors Timothy and Elizabeth Bracy rated it as Lennon’s 4th best solo song, saying that “Over a martial beat and insistent piano riff, the question rises inextricably: if we can be abandoned by those who made us, who in the hell can we trust? The screaming, unanswered fade out makes the answer only too clear.”[15] Far Out critic Joe Taysom described it as “one of the most moving creations that the late musician ever concocted,” saying that Lennon “lays himself emotionally bare and finally deals with the abandonment issues that scarred him from childhood.”[4]

The musicians who performed on the original recording were as follows:[16]

Lennon plays guitar rather than piano on the Nowhere Boy demo version.[11]

  1. ^ Miles, Barry; Badman, Keith, eds. (2001). The Beatles Diary After the Break-Up: 1970–2001 (reprint ed.). London: Music Sales Group. p. 19. ISBN 9780711983076.
  2. ^ a b Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. p. 326. ISBN 978-0-9544528-1-0.
  3. ^ “RPM Top 100 Singles – February 13, 1971” (PDF).
  4. ^ a b c d Taysom, Joe (28 December 2020). “The Story Behind The Song: John Lennon’s heart-wrenching ‘Mother’“. Far Out. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  5. ^ Doggett, Peter (2009). The Art And Music of John Lennon. London, England: Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857121264.
  6. ^ Urish, Ben; G. Bielen, Kenneth (2007). The Words and Music of John Lennon. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-275-99180-7.
  7. ^ Coleman, Ray (1984). Lennon: The Definitive Biography. London, England: Pan Publishing. ISBN 978-0060986087.
  8. ^ Wenner, Jann (1971). Lennon Remembers. San Francisco, California: Straight Arrow Press. pp. 110, 112. ISBN 978-1859843765.
  9. ^ Madinger, Chip; Easter, Mark (2000). Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium. Chesterfield, Missouri: 44.1 Productions. pp. 38–39, 576. ISBN 0-615-11724-4.
  10. ^ “Mother”. The Beatles Bible. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  11. ^ a b Roberts, Michael. “‘Isn’t he a bit like you and me’?”. Filmycks.com. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  12. ^ “CashBox Record Reviews” (PDF). Cash Box. 2 January 1971. p. 14. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  13. ^ “Picks of the Week” (PDF). Record World. 2 January 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  14. ^ “Spotlight Singles” (PDF). Billboard. 2 January 1971. p. 37. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  15. ^ Bracy, Timothy; Bracy, Elizabeth (13 May 2014). “The 10 Best John Lennon Songs”. Stereogum. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  16. ^ Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen To This Book. Guildford, Great Britain: Biddles Ltd. p. 57. ISBN 0-9544528-1-X.
  17. ^ Ruhlmann, William. “Barbra Joan Streisand – Barbra Streisand | Songs, Reviews, Credits”. AllMusic. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  18. ^ “Picks of the Week” (PDF). Record World. 9 October 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  19. ^ “RPM Top 100 Singles – December 4, 1971” (PDF).
  20. ^ M1+2 Event (subtitled), 7 June 2007, retrieved 25 August 2023
  21. ^ Currin, Brian. “Mike Makhalemele – Mind Games”. Rock.co.za. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  22. ^ Provolhouse (10 July 2011), Lou Reed ~ MJF ~ Mother (John Lennon cover) ☺, archived from the original on 21 December 2021, retrieved 22 January 2019
  23. ^ Kreps, Daniel (16 December 2020). “David Bowie’s Unreleased John Lennon, Bob Dylan Covers Set for Birthday Single”. Rolling Stone.
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