It was released as a single in the US and peaked at # 8 on the Billboard Singles Charts in 1966. The B-side "Lady Jane" peaked at # 24.[1]
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Mother's Little Helper" was recorded in Los Angeles from 3 to 8 December 1965. The song deals with the darker perspective of the use of prescription drugs among housewives.
Mother's Little Helper
The Rolling Stones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"Kids are different today"
I hear ev'ry mother say
Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though she's not really ill
There's a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helperAnd it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day
"Things are different today"
I hear ev'ry mother say
Cooking fresh food for a husband's just a drag
So she buys an instant cake and she burns her frozen steak
And goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And two help her on her way, get her through her busy day
Doctor please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old
"Men just aren't the same today"
I hear ev'ry mother say
They just don't appreciate that you get tired
They're so hard to satisfy, You can tranquilize your mind
So go running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And four help you through the night, help to minimize your plight
Doctor please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old
"Life's just much too hard today"
I hear ev'ry mother say
And if you take more of those, you will get an overdose
No more running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
They just helped you on your way, through your busy dying day
The lyrics to The Rolling Stones's song "Mother's Little Helper" are a commentary on the pressures faced by housewives in the 1960s who had to balance their domestic responsibilities with the changing social landscape of the time. The first verse sets the scene with the singer hearing mothers complain that their children are "different today" and they need something to calm them down. The "little yellow pill" is a reference to Valium, which was commonly prescribed for anxiety at the time. The second verse has the mother complaining about the drudgery of cooking and turning to convenience foods instead. She takes more pills to get her through the day. In the third verse, the singer hears mothers complain about men and how hard they are to satisfy. The pills help to "tranquilize" their minds. The last verse has the mother feeling that life is too hard and the pursuit of happiness is a bore. She takes too many pills and ends up overdosing.
Line by Line Meaning
What a drag it is getting old
The process of aging is burdensome and unpleasant.
Kids are different today
I hear ev'ry mother say
Mothers feel that the younger generation behaves in a way that is divergent from what they know.
Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though she's not really ill
There's a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day
Mothers look for something to calm them down, and despite not being sick, they resort to a yellow pill called 'Mother's Little Helper' to get through their busy routines.
Things are different today
I hear ev'ry mother say
Cooking fresh food for a husband's just a drag
So she buys an instant cake and she burns her frozen steak
And goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And two help her on her way, get her through her busy day
Mothers find cooking for their husbands uninteresting and therefore opt out to buy instant meals, burning their frozen steak. They then take two of the 'Mother's Little Helper' pill to get through their hectic day.
Doctor please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old
Mothers ask the doctor for more of the pills and speed up on taking four more while admitting that getting old is such a drag.
Men just aren't the same today
I hear ev'ry mother say
They just don't appreciate that you get tired
They're so hard to satisfy, You can tranquilize your mind
So go running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And four help you through the night, help to minimize your plight
Mothers complain that men are quite different nowadays and don't seem to acknowledge their fatigue. Furthermore, they are quite difficult to please, and taking four 'Mother's Little Helper' pills helps to calm their anxieties at night and minimize their misery.
Life's just much too hard today
I hear ev'ry mother say
The pursuit of happiness just seems a bore
And if you take more of those, you will get an overdose
No more running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
They just helped you on your way, through your busy dying day
Mothers argue that life is unbearable today, and happiness is not worth acquiring. They caution that taking too many of the pills can lead to an overdose and advise against taking more 'Mother's Little Helper.' Instead, the pills are just meant to help them get through to their final dying day.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Abkco Music Inc.
Written by: Keith Richards, Mick Jagger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@juancamacho5746
What a drag it is getting old
"Kids are different today, " I hear every mother say
Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though she's not really ill, there's a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of her mother's little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day
"Things are different today, " I hear every mother say
Cooking fresh food for her husband's just a drag
So she buys an instant cake, and she burns a frozen steak
And goes running for the shelter of her mother's little helper
And two help her on her way, get her through her busy day
Doctor, please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old
"Men just aren't the same today, " I hear every mother say
They just don't appreciate that you get tired
They're so hard to satisfy, you can tranquilize your mind
So go running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And four help you through the night, help to minimize your plight
Doctor, please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old
"Life's just much too hard today, " I hear every mother say
The pursuit of happiness just seems a bore
And if you take more of those, you will get an overdose
No more running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
They just helped you on your way, through your busy dying day
Hey
@setsochhatasin
I found this song from “The Modern Trauma Toolkit” book by Christy Gibson, MD which a phrase a before mentioning the song is “This is my overall problem with the DSM: it doesn’t acknowledge the social conditions and policies that have influenced a lot of the so-called illnesses.”
@Methilde
Jagger was so young when he wrote those lyrics, 23 years old!!!!
@rebeccawagner4167
The stones really knew what they were writing about, some moms were really doing this behind closed doors.❤❤
@julietfischer5056
That was all too common back then. Society thought women needed chemical help to deal with life. In books, movies, and television shows, women were given sedatives after any sort of upset or trauma. In real life, women were prescribed uppers or downers (or both) to 'help' them get through their day.
@CantTellYou
@@julietfischer5056 also in those movies, a prescription of one brisk slap across the face with a small dose of “get yourself together!” 😑
@dicksdiggers
@@julietfischer5056 Women still do that. Most women in your life are hopped on SSRIs or other ADs.
@JohnBlahuta-bb2iy
Not just some, a lot.
@Sport-o7z
Were?
@kev3d
I was positioning a large, heavy, and stubborn rug in my office as I was listening to the Stones. Bent at the waist, I tugged hard on the corner of the rug and suddenly pain shot through my lower back, just as Mick sings "What a drag it is getting old." You didn't have to hit it quite so hard on the head there, Mr. Jagger.
@mickjagger8439
Yes I did!