Mother
Al B. Rich Lyrics

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Twenty-three unwise and ill-prepared
A hankering out-sized and unimpaired
Glare at me with eyes wide as a killer whale

Self-belief you can walk on water
Make a scene just don’t seem bothered
The honeybee stings without a care in the world

Was a time we would jump the train
Step into the eye of the hurricane
Laugh until the neighbors complained
About something we might a done the other day

Little would we think or fear
Consequence or a truth in what was near
Our minds were set to engineer
The remedy for what it all means

A symphony of white lies under your bed
In harmony with what hides inside your head
More than centerfold syndrome it's widespread

A reckless waste of time and ambition
Your mindless taste beyond recognition
Fortified with over-confidence of the age

Was a time we would jump the train
Step into the eye of the hurricane
Laugh until the neighbors complained
About something we might a done the other day

Little would we think or fear
Consequence or a truth in what was near
Our minds were set to engineer
The remedy for what it all means

And what it all means is
We’re still brothers
And that’s okay

We just have different mothers
And we play each other’s scene

Overall Meaning

The song "Mother" by Al B. Rich is about reflecting on past experiences of youth with a sense of nostalgia and regret. The lyrics take the listener on a journey of reminiscence of the reckless, carefree days of youth, where consequences and the truth of what was near was not a concern. The song speaks of the recklessness that often comes with youth and how over-confidence at that age can lead to wasted time and ambition.

The first verse speaks of the unpreparedness of youth, even though they were bursting with ambition and self-belief. The youth in question had no worries about making a spectacle of themselves, they had the ability to walk on water figuratively speaking, and their actions often belied a lack of care or concern for the repercussions that may come with their actions. The second verse emphasizes the callous disregard the youth felt, often laughing while carrying out acts that may have seemed harmless but can hurt others. They engineered their own solutions without thinking of consequences, living in their own world of white lies to justify their reckless behavior.

The chorus emphasizes the bond of brotherhood between the singer and his friend. They may have had different mothers, but they were still connected. The lyrics offer an understanding of the past, acknowledging the careless actions of their youth with a sense of nostalgia, affection, and longing.

Line by Line Meaning

Twenty-three unwise and ill-prepared
At 23, I was foolish and unprepared for what life had in store for me.

A hankering out-sized and unimpaired
I had a strong desire for success and it was unimpeded by anything.

Glare at me with eyes wide as a killer whale
People judged me intensely, even like a predator looking for its prey.

Self-belief you can walk on water
I had such unshakable confidence that I thought I could do the impossible.

Make a scene just don’t seem bothered
I didn't care if my actions attracted attention, I was fearless.

The honeybee stings without a care in the world
Just like a bee, I was reckless and didn't care about the consequences of my actions.

Was a time we would jump the train
There was a time when my friends and I would take risks and do things that were dangerous.

Step into the eye of the hurricane
We would often put ourselves in the middle of chaos and turmoil.

Laugh until the neighbors complained
We had a good time but often got carried away, to the point that people around us would get annoyed.

About something we might a done the other day
Our behavior was often questionable and we didn't care what others thought of us.

Little would we think or fear
We didn't dwell on the possible negative consequences of our actions.

Consequence or a truth in what was near
We refused to acknowledge the harsh realities of life, and didn't think our actions would have consequences.

Our minds were set to engineer
We thought we could control and manipulate the outcomes of our actions.

The remedy for what it all means
We believed that we could fix our problems and find success.

A symphony of white lies under your bed
We were living a lie, trying to maintain the facade that everything was okay.

In harmony with what hides inside your head
Our inner thoughts were in sync with the false image we wanted to present to the world.

More than centerfold syndrome it's widespread
Our false identity wasn't just a personal problem, it was a widespread issue that many others faced.

A reckless waste of time and ambition
Our actions were foolish, and didn't align with our actual goals and aspirations.

Your mindless taste beyond recognition
We didn't have a clear understanding of what we really wanted and chased success blindly.

Fortified with over-confidence of the age
We were too confident in our abilities, and thought we could achieve anything just because we were young.

And what it all means is
In the end, this is what it all comes down to.

We’re still brothers
Despite all our differences, we are still connected like family.

And that’s okay
We don't have to agree on everything, and it's okay.

We just have different mothers
We may have different origins and paths, but we are still united in many ways.

And we play each other’s scene
Despite our differences, we can still learn from one another and help each other like actors in a play.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Rich Kleinbauer

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

Patrick V

4y↑4

Excellent talk this morning. It took 6 days from the date I stopped all seed oils, processed food, fruit, sugars for me to read a normal blood glucose. Was T2 for 11 years. No more T2 or hypertension. Off all 9 meds in 4 months. PS I eat 4-5 egg yokes per day for over a year. No whites please.

Denis Daly

4y↑1

Great discussion. This should be shown in school, and prime time tv.

Andrew James

4y↑2

During the NAFTA re-negotiations, it leaked out that the junk food companies were somehow "motivating" the US negotiators to push for a ban on robust labeling requirements on the front of the packaging - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/20/world/americas/nafta-food-labels-obesity.html. I'm no socialist, but the power of big money has to be kept in check.