Mother
. Jordaan Mason & The Horse Museum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
His lungs full of blankets
Burnt, black, and brown
He buried his family in the back yard,
Flooded the basement, filled it up with tar
We borrowed their old clothes, and then we undressed
We stole a trampoline, and made it our mattress
And slept with all the house lights on
And slept with all the house lights off
Waiting for them to come home
We said it's so much easier to believe in nothing
It's so easy to wait impatiently to die
He pulled his pants around his ankles
And he showed me all the places he went purple
Because he held too hard, his own skin
Because no one else touch him,
And I mothered him, beastly
And we shared our severed head dreams
And I held him where the sickness was
And I nursed him through the night
And I nursed him through the night
And we stayed that way all night
The song Mother by Jordaan Mason & The Horse Museum paints a dark and poignant picture of a man who has received a terminal diagnosis from the doctors, with lungs full of blankets, burnt, black and brown. He is described as having buried his family in the back yard and flooded the basement, filling it up with tar. We then see the singer and her partner sneaking into their home, undressing in their borrowed clothes, and sleeping with all the lights on, waiting for them to come home. This haunting chorus line is paired with another that says "It's so much easier to believe in nothing, it's so easy to wait impatiently to die".
The man then shows the singer his bruises, places where he went purple because he held himself too hard, no one else touched him. The song takes a turn into something very intimate and tender, with the singer caring for him all night, nursing him through the sickness, and sharing their severed head dreams.
Overall, this song speaks to themes of grief, loss, trauma, and the ways in which we cope with them. The imagery used is vivid and at times unsettling, but leaves a lasting impression on the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
The doctors told him, he'd be gone by now
The doctors gave him a timeframe for his death
His lungs full of blankets
His lungs were filled with smoke or other harmful substances
Burnt, black, and brown
The harmful substance caused his lungs to turn dark colors
He buried his family in the back yard,
He felt immense guilt for the death of his family
Flooded the basement, filled it up with tar
He took extreme actions to deal with his grief
We borrowed their old clothes, and then we undressed
In times of loss, we often seek comfort from the past
We stole a trampoline, and made it our mattress
We find unconventional ways to cope with grief
And slept with all the house lights on
Fear and sadness consume us and prevent us from sleeping in darkness
Waiting for them to come home
We hold onto hope, even if it may be unrealistic
And slept with all the house lights off
We try to normalize our lives despite the tragedy
We said it's so much easier to believe in nothing
We question the existence of a higher power in moments of grief
It's so easy to wait impatiently to die
We may lose the will to live when we experience immense loss
He pulled his pants around his ankles
He exposed his vulnerability
And he showed me all the places he went purple
He shared his physical pain with me
Because he held too hard, his own skin
He internalized his pain and caused physical harm to himself
Because no one else touch him,
He lacked human connection and intimacy during his time of need
And I mothered him, beastly
I provided for him, fiercely and unconditionally
And we shared our severed head dreams
We confided in each other about our darkest thoughts
And I held him where the sickness was
I comforted him through his physical and emotional pain
And I nursed him through the night
I cared for him continuously
And we stayed that way all night
We found comfort in each other during a time of great loss
Contributed by Jake D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
wndnevrythn
The doctors told him he'd be gone by now
His lungs full of blankets: burnt, black, and bound
He buried his family in the backyard
Flooded the basement, filled it up with tar
We borrowed their old clothes, and then we undressed
We stole a trampoline and made it our mattress
And slept with all the houselights on, waiting for them to come home
And slept with all the houselights on, waiting for them to come home
He said: "it's so much easier to believe in nothing;
It's so easy to wait impatiently to die."
He pulled his pants around his ankles
And he showed me all the places he went purple
'Cause he held too hard his own skin
'Cause no one else would touch him
And I (s)mothered him, beastly
And we shared our severed head dreams
I held him where the sickness was
And I nursed him through the night
And I nursed him through the night
And we stayed that way all night
lucy starlight
"It's so much easier to believe in nothing, it's so easy to wait impatiently to die"
Every time I get to this part of the song I always just burst into tears
wndnevrythn
The doctors told him he'd be gone by now
His lungs full of blankets: burnt, black, and bound
He buried his family in the backyard
Flooded the basement, filled it up with tar
We borrowed their old clothes, and then we undressed
We stole a trampoline and made it our mattress
And slept with all the houselights on, waiting for them to come home
And slept with all the houselights on, waiting for them to come home
He said: "it's so much easier to believe in nothing;
It's so easy to wait impatiently to die."
He pulled his pants around his ankles
And he showed me all the places he went purple
'Cause he held too hard his own skin
'Cause no one else would touch him
And I (s)mothered him, beastly
And we shared our severed head dreams
I held him where the sickness was
And I nursed him through the night
And I nursed him through the night
And we stayed that way all night
blehhhhhh
This is so underrated I wish more people would listen to it more.....
purpletraitor
The affinity I think I feel with this album is honestly astounding, in my opinion...
A$AP Tyler, The Sweatshirt
this is probably top 5 songs all time for me
CatsAreFamousToo
jeeeezus, this whole album is so perfect
plush
cried so hard to this the other day that it made me into a new person completely
Bytorand1
i think this is my favorite song ever :)
Connor Chapman
Actually cried
WojakJames _
best on the album?