Mother Mother (song)

"Mother Mother" is a song by American musician Tracy Bonham from her debut album, The Burdens of Being Upright (1996). Released on March 12, 1996, it became her most successful single, topping the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, entering the top five in Australia, and finding success in several other countries, including Canada and Norway.

"Mother Mother"
Single by Tracy Bonham
from the album The Burdens of Being Upright
B-side
ReleasedMarch 12, 1996 (1996-03-12)[1]
Length3:00
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)Tracy Bonham
Producer(s)
Tracy Bonham singles chronology
"Mother Mother"
(1996)		 "Sharks Can't Sleep"
(1996)
Music video
"Mother Mother" on YouTube

Lyrics

The song's lyrics resemble a telephone call by a young woman to her mother. The verses detail her experiences with several mundane aspects of her daily life but then the chorus provides an uglier, darker contrast with Bonham screaming the lyrics, leading up to the lines "I'm freezing, I'm starving, I'm bleeding to death, everything's fine! / I miss you, I love you..."

Bonham said the song is based on her experiences as a people-pleasing young woman calling home. She would make poor life choices, yet didn't want her mom to know about it and wanted to pretend everything was fine when they talked on the phone. "It's not an angry, 'I hate you, Mom' song, which a lot of people misunderstood it to be. It was like, 'Yeah, Mom, life is hard,'" said Bonham.[2]

Bonham said her mother and stepfather were actually very accepting of the song. The screaming at the end of the chorus took a toll on Bonham's vocal cords when touring, and she had to cancel several dates on one tour and relearn how to scream it.[2]

Chart performance

"Mother Mother" reached number one on Billboard magazine's Modern Rock Tracks chart in mid-1996.[3] It was the last song by a female solo artist to top this chart until "Royals" by Lorde in August 2013, by which time the chart had been renamed Billboard Alternative Songs.[4] The song was particularly successful in Australia, where it reached number five on the ARIA Singles Chart,[5] received a gold certification from Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and became Australia's 46th best-selling single of 1996.[6] The song also reached number three on the Canadian RPM Alternative 30,[7] number six in Norway,[8] and the top 40 in the Netherlands and New Zealand.[9][10]

Music videos

Two music videos were shot for the song and were used on both MTV and VH-1:

One video, directed by Jake Scott, was shot for MTV featuring an older woman (Bonham's real life mother) turning on the television on which Tracy's image is singing as the woman proceeds to clean the room. The backing band is seen as well playing in an adjoining dining room.

A second video was shot for more VH-1 in which the entire band including Bonham are in a large clothes closet as she sings into a mirror and then quick shots of her are shown playfully trying on different kinds of women's clothes.

Track listings

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[6] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Tracy Bonham: Mother Mother" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1136. March 8, 1996. p. 78. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  2. Wiser, Carl (February 22, 2022). "Tracy Bonham : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  3. "Alternative Airplay". Billboard. June 8, 1996. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  4. "Lorde First Woman in 17 Years to Top Alternative with 'Royals'". Billboard. August 16, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  5. "Tracy Bonham – Mother Mother". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  6. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1996". ARIA. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  7. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 2974." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  8. "Tracy Bonham – Mother Mother". VG-lista. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 42, 1996" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  10. "Tracy Bonham – Mother Mother". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  11. Mother Mother (US maxi-CD single liner notes). Tracy Bonham. Island Records. 1996. 854 745-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. Mother Mother (UK CD1 liner notes). Tracy Bonham. Island Records. 1996. CID 644, 854 745-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. Mother Mother (UK CD2 liner notes). Tracy Bonham. Island Records. 1996. CIDX 644, 854 765-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. Mother Mother (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Tracy Bonham. Island Records. 1996. IS 644, 854 744-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. Mother Mother (European CD single liner notes). Tracy Bonham. Island Records. 1996. 854 744-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. Mother Mother (Australian maxi-CD single liner notes). Tracy Bonham. Island Records. 1996. 854 659-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. "Tracy Bonham – Mother Mother" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  18. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8487." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  19. "Tracy Bonham – Mother Mother" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  20. "Radio Songs". Billboard. June 15, 1996. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  21. "Mainstream Rock Airplay". Billboard. June 8, 1996. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  22. "The Year in Music 1996 – Hot Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 52. December 28, 1996. p. YE-78. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved June 3, 2022 – via Google Books.
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