3/09/2016 , , , ,
Genesis - Mam
Genesis - Mama


Genesis - Mama Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Genesis
Released: 1983

Mama Lyrics


I can't see you Mama
But I know you're always there
Ooh to touch and to feel you mama
Oh I just can't keep away
It's the heat and the steam of the city
Oh its got me running and I just can't brake
So say you'll help me mama
Cause its getting so hard

Now I can't keep you mama
But I know you're always there
You listen, you teach me mama
And I know inside you care
So get down, down here beside me
Oh you ain't going nowhere
No I won't hurt you mama
But its getting so hard

Can't you see me mama
Mama mama mama please
Can't you feel my heart
Can't you feel my heart
Can't you feel my heart ooh
Listen to me mama
Mama mama
You're taking away any last chances
Don't take it away
Can't you feel my heart?..

It's hot, too hot for me mama
But I can't hardly wait
My eyes they're burning mama
Make the pain, make it go away
No I won't hurt you mama
But its getting so hard

Now I can't see you mama
But I know you're always there
You taunt, you tease me mama
But I never, never can keep away
It's the heat and the steam of the city
Writer/s: RUTHERFORD, MICHAEL/COLLINS, PHIL/BANKS, TONY
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, IMAGEM U.S. LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Mama Song Chart
  • This is about a young man obsessed with a prostitute who is not interested in him. He has an Oedipal fixation on her, and insists on calling her "Mama." It is based on a book Phil Collins read called The Moon's A Balloon, by David Niven. In the book, a young man falls in love with an older prostitute who does not return his affections.
  • After their 1980 album Duke, Genesis changed the way they wrote songs. Instead of the individual members bringing in musical bits and song ideas to work on, the band would show up in the studio and come up with ideas collectively. According to Phil Collins, it was Mike Rutherford who came up with this song after getting the idea from his drum machine. Their keyboard player Tony Banks added some chords, and Collins began improvising lyrics while they listened to playbacks, at one point uttering the word "Mama," which became the title for the song. In a press conference following the release of the album, Collins said that when they wrote the song, it "had a lot of steam, a lot of heat," and they pictured Cuban brothels. The band didn't think much of the song when they wrote it, and were surprised when it caught on.
  • The chorus consists of maniacal laughter performed by Phil Collins. When questioned about getting into the sinister mood to perform the song, Collins said that it wasn't a problem. After all, he was an accomplished actor long before he joined Genesis.
  • If you thought this song dealt with abortion, you're not the only one. Phil Collins has recounted a story about played the song for the band's manager for the first time, who thought the narrator was the voice of the fetus pleading with the pregnant woman.
  • The unusual percussion was created with a drum machine set to distort the beats. Collins based the drum rhythm on a track he worked on for Peter Gabriel called "Intruder." Gabriel encouraged Collins to experiment and use different processing devices.

    Collins, who became the lead singer of Genesis when Gabriel left in 1975, did a lot of the drumming on Gabriel's third solo album - he was taking a break from the band and sorting out his marital problems at the time.
  • Phil Collins got the idea for the crazy laugh from the 1982 Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five song "The Message," where lead vocalist Melle Mel does a similar breathy laugh.
  • This was the first single from the album. They had now completely departed from their Peter Gabriel era sound and were getting a lot of radio play as a result.
  • Many groups title their first album the name of the band, but not counting live albums, this was Genesis' 12th release and 6th without Gabriel.
  • This was their biggest UK hit to that point. It didn't chart in America, where "That's All" was the big hit from the album.
  • An extended version was released as a CD single in 1988.
  • The video featured uncomfortably close shots of Phil Collins' face, where he looked particularly demonic. The image left a lasting impression on viewers and gained a lot of buzz for the video, which did well on the burgeoning MTV network.

    The clip was helmed by the British director "Stuart Orme," who did several other Genesis videos ("No Reply At All," "Misunderstanding") and worked on many popular TV series in England, including Al Fresco and Inspector Morse.