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 Mer Girl vs Promise to Try vs Mother and Father |
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 Jan 3 2016, 10:28 PM
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#1
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Joined: 17 February 2011
Posts: 56,203 User: 13,007 
                      
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Apologies for the morbid subject matter but i've been thinking quite a bit about Madonna and her family life recently, and these three songs are perhaps the most open and raw songs about something that affected Madonna and subsequently her entire career: the death of her mother. Her mother died of breast cancer when she was 5 years old and that has impacted on some of her lyrics and songwriting particularly in these 3 songs. In these songs, all quite different, she explores the effect of losing her mother on herself and her music.
'Mer Girl' through it's lyrics reveals the harsh vividness in which she reflects on the loss "And I smelled her burning flesh/Her rotting bones, her decay/I ran and I ran/I'm still running away.". 'Promise to Try' has a more nostalgic quality and a longing to remember. The lyrics, "Does she hear my voice in the night when I call?" depict her struggle to remember her mother and to envisage her "smile frozen in time". Finally 'Mother and Father' represents a way of Madonna letting go of the sadness of her mother's death and moving on from it. It's a totally different sound to the previous too. There are many more songs and moments that centre or reveal thoughts on this sensitive matter, but i've chosen 3 of the most explicit. Was going to include 'Oh Father' but I decided to have it focused very closely on this one subject matter. Depressing I know, but there is a vast amount of beauty and hope to be found in these incredible songs. Vote for your favourite one in the poll and if you can, rank the three of them in the thread below! Also discuss any other favourite songs or lyrics that help to explore this matter. |
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Jan 3 2016, 10:36 PM
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#2
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 Creole Lady Mayonnaise
Joined: 16 March 2012
Posts: 9,971 User: 16,548 
 
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Mother And Father is gash. Most of that album is actually.
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Jan 3 2016, 10:45 PM
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#3
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Joined: 17 February 2011
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'Promise to Try' is the obvious one for me. It's heartbreakingly beautiful and moves me without fail every time I listen to it.
I do actually enjoy 'Mother and Father' so no shade please 
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Jan 3 2016, 11:07 PM
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#4
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Creole Lady Mayonnaise
Joined: 16 March 2012
Posts: 9,971 User: 16,548
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All things wrong with it:
The Vocals The Lyrics The Production The Rapping THE f***ING BABY VOICES Promise To Try is stunning though. |
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Jan 3 2016, 11:50 PM
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#5
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 Schlagerdrottningen
Joined: 23 August 2010
Posts: 31,876 User: 11,709
    
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I, on the other hand, ADORE Mother & Father. Particularly the incredible live version which strips it back to the great song at the core.
Promise To Try is excellent too, I just think it pales somewhat compared to the towering highs of the parent album. Mer Girl is just dull as. |
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Jan 4 2016, 04:17 PM
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#6
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Creole Lady Mayonnaise
Joined: 16 March 2012
Posts: 9,971 User: 16,548
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Shouldn't Oh Father be here too?
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Jan 4 2016, 06:33 PM
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#7
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 31 August 2010
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1. Oh father
2. Mer Girl 3. Promise To Try Such amazing tracks !!!! I love all of them to bits , stunning . 4. Mother and Father (although the RIT version is sublime). This post has been edited by vibe: Jan 4 2016, 06:34 PM |
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Jan 4 2016, 06:39 PM
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#8
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Joined: 17 February 2011
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QUOTE(Alejandjob @ Jan 4 2016, 04:17 PM)  Shouldn't Oh Father be here too? Read the OP  I left it out to make it even more specific. And it would have SWEPT the poll and got all the votes, making it pointless so I thought we could appreciate 3 of the lesser known odes-to-her-Mother 
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Jan 5 2016, 06:34 PM
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#9
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Joined: 17 February 2011
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More votes please
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Jan 5 2016, 06:43 PM
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#10
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Creole Lady Mayonnaise
Joined: 16 March 2012
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Maybe if you put Oh Father here you would get more votes~
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Jan 5 2016, 09:26 PM
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#11
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 Break the tension
Joined: 7 March 2006
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'Promise To Try' by far!
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Jan 28 2016, 06:21 PM
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#12
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 BuzzJack Idol
Joined: 8 December 2010
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I feel like there's a really deep meaning behind 'Mer Girl', like it's a poem where there's a reason behind each and every piece of imagery, but I'm just not getting it. I get the impression she's trying to find her true self or that she's reaching an epiphany whilst in a dream (the constant running and abandoning of every day activities feels like a dream to me) but that's as deep as it gets for me.
'Promise to Try' is, to me, Madonna's struggle of wanting to treasure her mother's memory but wanting to let go of the pain of her not being here now, yet the two just come hand in hand. The simple grand piano melody compliments Madonna's raw and honest vocals so well and makes for a quite emotionally draining listen (in a good way). The above two songs have notably stripped back production to both set the mood and allow you to focus on the lyrics, but 'Mother and Father' isn't so obvious with the lyrics under an electro-poppy disguise. It highlights all of Madonna's negative thoughts including her resentment of her father but she realises she needs to let all of that go to be able to truly move on. There's almost a frustration that she's tried numerous times to put her mind at peace but it keeps coming back to haunt her and so, once and for all, she has to both forgive and forget, not one or the other. The live version is also fantastic. Don't suppose anyone else noticed the similarities between the introduction to this and Kylie's 'Fever'? |
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