Cover art for Mother by John Lennon
Dec. 11, 19701 viewer91.7K views

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About

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Genius Annotation

The lyrics of John Lennon’s “Mother” addresses both his father (Alfred Lennon) and mother (Julia Lennon). Both whom abandoned him in his childhood. His mother was knocked down and killed by a car driven by an off-duty policeman near her sister’s house.

The song was featured in the film “Nowhere Boy” (2009) directed by Sam Taylor-Wood. Eminem also sampled the song in his song “Headlights” in his album “The Marshall Mathers EP” (2013).

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did John Lennon say about "Mother"?
Genius Answer

Lennon said while introducing the song in a 1972 live performance:

… A lot of people thought [this song] was just about my parents, but it is about 99% of the parents, alive or half-dead.

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