"The Mad Mother" and "My Mom" by Eminem
(Mother and child relationship)
"The Mad Mother"
Her eyes are wild, her head is bare, The sun has burnt her coal-black hair, Her eye-brows have a rusty stain, And she came far from over the main. She has a baby on her arm, Or else she were alone; And underneath the hay-stack warm, And on the green-wood stone, She talked and sung the woods among; And it was in the English tongue. "Sweet babe! they say that I am mad, But nay, my heart is far too glad; And I am happy when I sing Full many a sad and doleful thing: Then, lovely baby, do not fear! I pray thee have no fear of me, But, safe as in a cradle, here My lovely baby! thou shalt be, To thee I know too much I owe; I cannot work thee any woe. A fire was once within my brain; And in my head a dull, dull pain; And fiendish faces one, two, three, Hung at my breasts, and pulled at me. But then there came a sight of joy; It came at once to do me good; I waked, and saw my little boy, My little boy of flesh and blood; Oh joy for me that sight to see! For he was here, and only he. Suck, little babe, oh suck again! It cools my blood; it cools my brain; Thy lips I feel them, baby! they Draw from my heart the pain away. Oh! press me with thy little hand; It loosens something at my chest; About that tight and deadly band I feel thy little fingers press'd. The breeze I see is in the tree; It comes to cool my babe and me. Oh! love me, love me, little boy! Thou art thy mother's only joy; And do not dread the waves below, When o'er the sea-rock's edge we go; The high crag cannot work me harm, Nor leaping torrents when they howl; The babe I carry on my arm, He saves for me my precious soul; Then happy lie, for blest am I; Without me my sweet babe would die. Then do not fear, my boy! for thee Bold as a lion I will be; And I will always be thy guide, Through hollow snows and rivers wide. I'll build an Indian bower; I know The leaves that make the softest bed: And if from me thou wilt not go, But still be true 'till I am dead, My pretty thing! then thou shalt sing, As merry as the birds in spring. Thy father cares not for my breast, 'Tis thine, sweet baby, there to rest: 'Tis all thine own! and if its hue Be changed, that was so fair to view, 'Tis fair enough for thee, my dove! My beauty, little child, is flown; But thou wilt live with me in love, And what if my poor cheek be brown? 'Tis well for me; thou canst not see How pale and wan it else would be. Dread not their taunts, my little life! I am thy father's wedded wife; And underneath the spreading tree We two will live in honesty. If his sweet boy he could forsake, With me he never would have stay'd: From him no harm my babe can take, But he, poor man! is wretched made, And every day we two will pray For him that's gone and far away. I'll teach my boy the sweetest things; I'll teach him how the owlet sings. My little babe! thy lips are still, And thou hast almost suck'd thy fill. --Where art thou gone my own dear child? What wicked looks are those I see? Alas! alas! that look so wild, It never, never came from me: If thou art mad, my pretty lad, Then I must be for ever sad. Oh! smile on me, my little lamb! For I thy own dear mother am. My love for thee has well been tried: I've sought thy father far and wide. I know the poisons of the shade, I know the earth-nuts fit for food; Then, pretty dear, be not afraid; We'll find thy father in the wood. Now laugh and be gay, to the woods away! And there, my babe; we'll live for aye. |
"My Mom"
Yo yo, alright, i'm gonna lay the chorus first Here we go now. My mom loved valium and lots of drugs And that's why I am like I am cause I'm like her Because my mom loved valium and lots of drugs That's why I on what I on cause I'm my mom. My mom my mom I know you're probably tired of hearing about my mom Oh ho! Whoa ho! But this is just a story of when I was just a shorty and how I became hooked on va-al-ya-hum Valium was in everything food that I ate, The water that I drank fucking peas on my plate, She sprinkled just enough of it to season my steak, So everyday I have at least three stomach aches, Now tell me what kind of mother would want to see her Son grow up to be an under a undera-fuckin-chiever, My teacher didn't think I was going be nothing either, What the fuck you sticking gum up under the fucking seat for? Mrs. Mathers your son has been huffing ether, Either that or the mother fuckers been puffing reefer, But all this huffing and puffing wasn't what it was either, It was neither I was buzzing but it wasn't what she thought, Pee in a tea cup? Bitch you aint my keeper, i'm sleeping, What the fuck you keep on fucking with me for? Slut you need to leave me the fuck alone I aint playing, Go find you a white crayon and color a fucking zebra. My mom love Valium and lots of drugs, That why I am like I am cause I'm like her, Because my mom love Valium and lots of drugs, That why I'm on what I'm on cause I'm my mom. Wait a minute this aint dinner this is paint thinner, You ate it yesterday I aint hear no complaints did I? Now here's a plate full of pain killers now just wait till I crush the Valium and put it in your potatoes you little mother fucker ill make you sit there and make that retarded fucking face without even tasting it, you better lick the fucking plate you aint wasting it, Put your face in it before I throw you in the basement again, And I aint giving in, your gonna just sit there in one fucking place spinning again till next thanksgiving and if you still aint finished it I use the same shit again then when I make spinach dip it will be placed into shit, you little shit want to sit there and play innocent, A rack fell and hit me at k mart and they witnessed it, child support, your father he aint sent us shit and so what if he did that aint none of your dang business kid. My mom there's no one else quite like my mom I know I should let bygones be bygones But she's the reason why I am high what I'm high on cause. My mom love Valium and lots of drugs, That why I am like I am cause I'm like her, Because my mom love Valium and lots of drugs, That why I'm on what I'm on cause I'm my mom. My mom loved Valium now all I am Is a party animal, I am what I am But I'm strong to be finished wit' me val-ium spinach But my buzz only lasts about two minutes But I don't wanna swallow it without chew'in it I can't even write a rhyme without you in it My Valium, my vaaa-eh-elll-liummmmm maaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnn. Man I never though that I could ever be A drug addict nah, fuck that I can't have it happen to me But that's actually what has ended up happenin, a tragedy I'm fuckin passin it up catchin me And it's probably where I got acquainted with the taste ain't it? Pharmaceuticals are the bomb mom, beautiful She killed the fuckin dog with the medicine she done fed it Feed it a fuckin aspirin and say that it has a headache Here want a snack, you hungry you fuckin rat Look at that, it's a Xanax, take it and take a nap Eat it, but I don't need it, well fuck it then break it up Take a little piece and beat it before you wake Nathan up all right Ma you win, I don't feel like arguein I'll do it, pop it gobble it and start wobblin Stumble hobble tumble slip drip then I fall in bed With a bottle of meds and a Heath Ledger bobblehead. My mom love Valium and lots of drugs, That why I am like I am cause I'm like her, Because my mom love Valium and lots of drugs, That why I'm on what I'm on cause I'm my mom. My mom i'm just like her My mom my mom my mom [x2] My mom my mom my mom, my mom, my momma Meh mommeh, eh likah momma. Ha ha, sorry mom, still love you though Dr. dre 2010, hey this shit is hella hard homie Yo take us on outta here. |
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The Parallels:
In the poem "The Mad Mother," Wordsworth writes about a mother that is forsaken by society, and she's in a state of being almost feral. She is tormented by visions in her head which create a burning sensation, and to fight this she goes out into the woods with her child. These two things together, the woods and the presence of her child, provide a "cooling" effect in her mind. Her son nursing contrasts the visions in her head of demons dragging her down by her breasts. As time passes though, she begins to suspect that her child is mad as well due to "wicked looks" that she thinks she notices. She worries that she is the one that has caused her child to be this way by taking him into the woods with her. This poem touches on the anxiety that this mother feels about the possiblity of negativlely impacting her son. She is forsaken by society, and through her coping her son potentially will experience the same struggles. While it's from the perspective of the son instead of the mother, the song "My Mom," by Eminem has a strong connection with this poem. Eminem discusses his struggles, and how he has the issues that he has because his mom had them, and he is his mom. "My mom loved Valium, and lots of drugs. That's why I am like I am because I'm like her." His mother struggled with a valium addiction, and in his song "Cleaning Out my Closet," he mentions that his mother had Münchausen's Syndrome. This is a disorder where one my fake being sick, or harm another person, in order to receive sympathy or relief for themself.
In the poem "The Mad Mother," Wordsworth writes about a mother that is forsaken by society, and she's in a state of being almost feral. She is tormented by visions in her head which create a burning sensation, and to fight this she goes out into the woods with her child. These two things together, the woods and the presence of her child, provide a "cooling" effect in her mind. Her son nursing contrasts the visions in her head of demons dragging her down by her breasts. As time passes though, she begins to suspect that her child is mad as well due to "wicked looks" that she thinks she notices. She worries that she is the one that has caused her child to be this way by taking him into the woods with her. This poem touches on the anxiety that this mother feels about the possiblity of negativlely impacting her son. She is forsaken by society, and through her coping her son potentially will experience the same struggles. While it's from the perspective of the son instead of the mother, the song "My Mom," by Eminem has a strong connection with this poem. Eminem discusses his struggles, and how he has the issues that he has because his mom had them, and he is his mom. "My mom loved Valium, and lots of drugs. That's why I am like I am because I'm like her." His mother struggled with a valium addiction, and in his song "Cleaning Out my Closet," he mentions that his mother had Münchausen's Syndrome. This is a disorder where one my fake being sick, or harm another person, in order to receive sympathy or relief for themself.