This song is a very haunting piece.
More so than Fathers Song.

Without even understand the lyrics, you can feel the anguish in the soft 2 hardness of Prince's touch on the keys, his vocal delivery from soft to harsh, the screeching near the end

Interesting piece, on the verge of his Purple Rain, dealing with a mix of emotions and motivations in 1983

.

Mama
Mama
Was it strange?
Strange

Mama

Mama

Was it strange

strange

Mama

W....

Mama

Mama

...

Mama what's this?

Mama why ....?

Why b.....?

.

Prince's relationship with his mother comes up in very short pieces in his music

The love of a mother or the lack of affection ...

Not too many of his piano pieces and demos I don't adore

.

Maybe I'm just like my mother

She's never satisfied

OldFriends4Sale said:

This song is a very haunting piece.
More so than Fathers Song.

Without even understand the lyrics, you can feel the anguish in the soft 2 hardness of Prince's touch on the keys, his vocal delivery from soft to harsh, the screeching near the end

Interesting piece, on the verge of his Purple Rain, dealing with a mix of emotions and motivations in 1983

.

Mama
Mama
Was it strange?
Strange

Mama

Mama

Was it strange

strange

Mama

W....

Mama

Mama

...

Mama what's this?

Mama why ....?

Why b.....?

.

Prince's relationship with his mother comes up in very short pieces in his music

The love of a mother or the lack of affection ...

Not too many of his piano pieces and demos I don't adore

.

Maybe I'm just like my mother

She's never satisfied

I also noticed Prince was more vocal and open in interviews about his father. I wonder if his mom's lack of musicianship had an impact on their relationship, along with other items. Stories have been around about Prince's mom focusing on Heyward and not standing up to him during his discpline style with Prince. Of course, the story of the magazines and toys to educate Prince.

I wonder if his relationship with his mother is the foundation of his relationship with his harem. I wish I could express that better.

From my understanding, Prince was by her side in her final days, which for me indicates he did respect and love his mother. But the absence of his mother in his music makes me wonder if she was too personal?

nelcp777 said:

laurarichardson said:

nelcp777 said:

I also noticed Prince was more vocal and open in interviews about his father. I wonder if his mom's lack of musicianship had an impact on their relationship, along with other items. Stories have been around about Prince's mom focusing on Heyward and not standing up to him during his discpline style with Prince. Of course, the story of the magazines and toys to educate Prince.

I wonder if his relationship with his mother is the foundation of his relationship with his harem. I wish I could express that better.

From my understanding, Prince was by her side in her final days, which for me indicates he did respect and love his mother. But the absence of his mother in his music makes me wonder if she was too personal?

--When Andre Cymone said his brother Eddie was a pimp and that Prince got an education in the Anderson house well, that told me everything I needed to know about where Prince got this harem nonsense from. Also TC Ellis said that N.Minneapolis had a lot of pimps and gangster types hanging around. I actually worked with someone who had family from the Northside and they confirmed the pimp stuff. Watch the movie the Mack Prince borrowed a lot from that movie.

wasnt Prince himself doin some pimpin??

luvsexy4all said:

laurarichardson said:

nelcp777 said: --When Andre Cymone said his brother Eddie was a pimp and that Prince got an education in the Anderson house well, that told me everything I needed to know about where Prince got this harem nonsense from. Also TC Ellis said that N.Minneapolis had a lot of pimps and gangster types hanging around. I actually worked with someone who had family from the Northside and they confirmed the pimp stuff. Watch the movie the Mack Prince borrowed a lot from that movie.

wasnt Prince himself doin some pimpin??

In a way he did not have chicks on the street but they were all working for him. He would have had a lot of lessons in pimping if he one living in the house with him.

I'm reading I Would Die 4 U by Toure

It seems she was emotionally detached from her family in general.

Maybe that is why it was sensible for her to give Skipper porno magazines for education

I would love to hear the complete words to this song

dreamer5 said:

There's a good interview with Tyka on the Jaimie Star News YouTube channel. She says in her book that her mother never taught her how to sing, laugh, cry, comb her hair or brush her teeth, but taught her how to stand strong,etc. she seems to rationalize by saying her mother was in college and busy. As a mother of a daughter it is a sad reflection.

It sounds like they were neglected a bit emotionally. Prince escaped some going to live with the Anderson's but that has a terrible effect on a child.

Just reading about him and Andre taking food out of Terry Jackson's refrigerator. Sad

OldFriends4Sale said:

I'm reading I Would Die 4 U by Toure

It seems she was emotionally detached from her family in general.

Maybe that is why it was sensible for her to give Skipper porno magazines for education

I call it drive by parenting

We live in a world overrun by tourists

Tourists, 89 flowers on their back

Inventors of the accu-jack

They look at life through a pocket camera

What? No flash again?

.

They're all a bunch of double drags, who teach their kids that love is bad

Half of the staff of their brain is on vacation

Mama, R U listening?
We need a New breed, leaders, stand up, organize

.

Don't let your children watch television

until they know how to read

or else all they'll know how to do is curse fight and breed

No child is bad from the beginning

They only imitate their atmosphere

OldFriends4Sale said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I'm reading I Would Die 4 U by Toure

It seems she was emotionally detached from her family in general.

Maybe that is why it was sensible for her to give Skipper porno magazines for education

ooooo tell me what you think, when your done!

laurarichardson said:

luvsexy4all said:

wasnt Prince himself doin some pimpin??

In a way he did not have chicks on the street but they were all working for him. He would have had a lot of lessons in pimping if he one living in the house with him.

hmmm that is true.

OldFriends4Sale said:

I'm reading I Would Die 4 U by Toure

It seems she was emotionally detached from her family in general.

Maybe that is why it was sensible for her to give Skipper porno magazines for education

She does come across as being emotionally detached and that perhaps stems from having been abused herself, either mentally or physically. It's like she did not know how to love her kids, but was constantly looking for love for herself. That absence had to have a strong effect on Prince, making him dominating towards women. His balance between respecting and idolising women and wanting to order them about was always very frail, imo.
About the magazines: he probably came across them himself. If not, and his mother actually gave them to him, perhaps she worried about his femininety and lack of girlfriends early on.

[Edited 9/9/17 2:43am]

IS there a possibility he and his mother ever got closer? That Tyka interview did imply that she and her mother's bond grew a bit when she was older. Can we assume the same might have happened with Prince. If Prince ever forgave his stepdad (there seems to be indication that he did from some earlier threads on his site claiming that Haywood was at concerts etc), then maybe communicating with his mother would be a bit easier without that stepdad issue in the way.

Talking less about something obviously doesn't mean less love or emotion. What's sad to me is that I don't know if his folks were involved when he lost his son. They should have been knocking down the door with a wrecking ball to reach him after that happened to him and his wife. But during that Oprah interview he claimed that he and his dad weren't close at the time. I sure hope at least his mom was around.

MMJas said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I'm reading I Would Die 4 U by Toure

It seems she was emotionally detached from her family in general.

Maybe that is why it was sensible for her to give Skipper porno magazines for education

She does come across as being emotionally detached and that perhaps stems from having been abused herself, either mentally or physically. It's like she did not know how to love her kids, but was constantly looking for love for herself. That absence had to have a strong effect on Prince, making him dominating towards women. His balance between respecting and idolising women and wanting to order them about was always very frail, imo.
About the magazines: he probably came across them himself. If not, and his mother actually gave them to him, perhaps she worried about his femininety and lack of girlfriends early on.

[Edited 9/9/17 2:43am]

Yes, a mothers response to her children can really affect how a man treats women for the rest of his life.

I'll look it up, but I believe it was Prince that said in a 1979/80 interview that his mother supplied him with the mags

purplefam99 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I'm reading I Would Die 4 U by Toure

It seems she was emotionally detached from her family in general.

Maybe that is why it was sensible for her to give Skipper porno magazines for education

ooooo tell me what you think, when your done!

ok I will. Do you have the book/reading it? I thought about doing a book discussion on it

OldFriends4Sale said:

I'm reading I Would Die 4 U by Toure

It seems she was emotionally detached from her family in general.

Maybe that is why it was sensible for her to give Skipper porno magazines for education

I don't have this one, who are his sources?

"Mama R U Listening"... is this a new studio leak?

MMJas said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I'm reading I Would Die 4 U by Toure

It seems she was emotionally detached from her family in general.

Maybe that is why it was sensible for her to give Skipper porno magazines for education

She does come across as being emotionally detached and that perhaps stems from having been abused herself, either mentally or physically. It's like she did not know how to love her kids, but was constantly looking for love for herself. That absence had to have a strong effect on Prince, making him dominating towards women. His balance between respecting and idolising women and wanting to order them about was always very frail, imo.
About the magazines: he probably came across them himself. If not, and his mother actually gave them to him, perhaps she worried about his femininety and lack of girlfriends early on.

[Edited 9/9/17 2:43am]

Is all of this is the Toure book? Was she really emotionally detached or was it about her trying to keep food on the table and a roof over her and her children's head once she and her husband divorced? In the interview Tyka states after the divorce from her father, her mom got 3 jobs and went to college to earn a degree. She could have gotton all those jobs and went to school to avoid her children, but I would be willing to bet she got the jobs and the college degree to become financial stable. I don't know because I don't know any of these people. Link to Tyka interview https://www.youtube.com/w...VOhmDTE28I

Its possible that its a little bit of both. I am a single mom and there are times when I am so tired that I can't relate to my kid's issues. Luckily,, I only have one job and my kids are really really vocal when they are feeling neglected. Guilt trips galore..LOL>

The financial element of Prince's early childhood shouldn't be ignored when discussing his mother's lack of familial involvement.

Asenath0607 said:

MMJas said:

She does come across as being emotionally detached and that perhaps stems from having been abused herself, either mentally or physically. It's like she did not know how to love her kids, but was constantly looking for love for herself. That absence had to have a strong effect on Prince, making him dominating towards women. His balance between respecting and idolising women and wanting to order them about was always very frail, imo.
About the magazines: he probably came across them himself. If not, and his mother actually gave them to him, perhaps she worried about his femininety and lack of girlfriends early on.

[Edited 9/9/17 2:43am]

Is all of this is the Toure book? Was she really emotionally detached or was it about her trying to keep food on the table and a roof over her and her children's head once she and her husband divorced? In the interview Tyka states after the divorce from her father, her mom got 3 jobs and went to college to earn a degree. She could have gotton all those jobs and went to school to avoid her children, but I would be willing to bet she got the jobs and the college degree to become financial stable. I don't know because I don't know any of these people. Link to Tyka interview https://www.youtube.com/w...VOhmDTE28I

dreamer5 said:

There's a good interview with Tyka on the Jaimie Star News YouTube channel. She says in her book that her mother never taught her how to sing, laugh, cry, comb her hair or brush her teeth, but taught her how to stand strong,etc. she seems to rationalize by saying her mother was in college and busy. As a mother of a daughter it is a sad reflection.

Well that is a far cry from what i read about mom back in the day.

Asenath0607 said:

MMJas said:

She does come across as being emotionally detached and that perhaps stems from having been abused herself, either mentally or physically. It's like she did not know how to love her kids, but was constantly looking for love for herself. That absence had to have a strong effect on Prince, making him dominating towards women. His balance between respecting and idolising women and wanting to order them about was always very frail, imo.
About the magazines: he probably came across them himself. If not, and his mother actually gave them to him, perhaps she worried about his femininety and lack of girlfriends early on.

[Edited 9/9/17 2:43am]

Is all of this is the Toure book? Was she really emotionally detached or was it about her trying to keep food on the table and a roof over her and her children's head once she and her husband divorced? In the interview Tyka states after the divorce from her father, her mom got 3 jobs and went to college to earn a degree. She could have gotton all those jobs and went to school to avoid her children, but I would be willing to bet she got the jobs and the college degree to become financial stable. I don't know because I don't know any of these people. Link to Tyka interview https://www.youtube.com/w...VOhmDTE28I

It was probably both. I don't really know, I'm just guessing that her supposed detachment might have been due to possible abuse suffered by herself. It's very common.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Asenath0607 said:

MMJas said:

She does come across as being emotionally detached and that perhaps stems from having been abused herself, either mentally or physically. It's like she did not know how to love her kids, but was constantly looking for love for herself. That absence had to have a strong effect on Prince, making him dominating towards women. His balance between respecting and idolising women and wanting to order them about was always very frail, imo.
About the magazines: he probably came across them himself. If not, and his mother actually gave them to him, perhaps she worried about his femininety and lack of girlfriends early on.

[Edited 9/9/17 2:43am]

Is all of this is the Toure book? Was she really emotionally detached or was it about her trying to keep food on the table and a roof over her and her children's head once she and her husband divorced? In the interview Tyka states after the divorce from her father, her mom got 3 jobs and went to college to earn a degree. She could have gotton all those jobs and went to school to avoid her children, but I would be willing to bet she got the jobs and the college degree to become financial stable. I don't know because I don't know any of these people. Link to Tyka interview

I don't think they were 'poor' people on the father or mothers side.
Mattie remarried. In the book, there are people who knew her and the work she did involved helping children and youth, and it seems she might have given so much to them and her work, that she was done and drained when it came to her own.

But her 'detachment' from Prince seems something else.
Maybe she saw Prince as being like John, and 'punished' him for it.
I've witnessed some mothers doing that to sons when the relationship with the father goes bad.
"You're just like him!!" etc

I'll post the piece from the book

How can you just leave me standing?
Alone in a world that's so cold? (So cold)
Maybe I'm just too demanding
Maybe I'm just like my father too bold
Maybe I'm just like my mother
She's never satisfied (She's never satisfied)
Why do we scream at each other
This is what it sounds like
When doves cry

I am not sure how one couldn't call this family poor or at least financially struggling at some point in their history. A woman in the 1960's with three jobs sounds like a struggle to me. A musician who works in a factory during the day sounds like struggling to me.

Another thought about Mattie--Working as a social worker, one would think, would make her more empathetic and understanding if her own son is struggling but the reality is that Prince's issues may have been too subtle compared to what she was seeing on a daily basis in her job. She might have figured his musical longing, loneliness, and stepdad/dad issues were tame compared to what she was dealing with at work. Being locked in a closet by your stepdad seems horrible to most of us but compared to sexual abuse, beatings, neglect to the point of no food or heat or shelter, maybe she thought her son's issues were not as crucial to deal with. Obviously that would be an error.

ufoclub said:

"Mama R U Listening"... is this a new studio leak?

Mama R U listening is the line from Sexuality

They're all a bunch of double drags, who teach their kids that love is bad

Half of the staff of their brain is on vacation

Mama, R U listening?
We need a New breed, leaders, stand up, organize