Maybe you're just like my mother

She's never satisfied...

.

I have to say, this line from When Doves Cry has always bothered me on some level. It smacks of victim-blaming. I wonder if he really felt that way about his mother?

jdcxc said:

I love that line, lyrics in that song are great.

When Doves Cry is a beautiful heartwrenching masterpiece, and it helped me understand myself better. Because, like Prince's mother, I am never satisfied.

QueenofCardboard said:

CNickyD said:

Over in the "Was He Depressed About Vanity?" thread, they claimed that the song is really about P and Vanity's breakup. Everything form those lyrics, to looking at himself in the mirror, to the parent role playing. It was an interesting breakdown..but those lyrics are pretty heavy.

SPYZFAN1 said:

QueenofCardboard said:

When Doves Cry is a beautiful heartwrenching masterpiece, and it helped me understand myself better. Because, like Prince's mother, I am never satisfied.

I think that sadly fits a lot of us. Always searching.

If his relationship with his mother really was as bad as it seemed, then do you expect him to have written about her in glowing terms?

I can't imagine too many mothers being willing to let their twelve year old children end up on the street because he couldn't get along with my husband. My husband would simply have to find several seats when it came to my kid -- even if I am pretty sure the kid probably wasn't an angel about the new man in the house, either. lo

But yeah, generally, I don't see it as anti-woman, just anti-particular-woman, which is fine by me.

"Victim-blaming" - ugh, dear God.

AnonymousFan said:

CNickyD said:

Maybe you're just like my mother

She's never satisfied...

.

I have to say, this line from When Doves Cry has always bothered me on some level. It smacks of victim-blaming. I wonder if he really felt that way about his mother?

I think that Prince had many years, to ponder what his mother's demons and issues were and he had to be succint when he wrote about them. I don't think that he is blaming her for anything in this song. It's more like he recognising something in her, a tragic flaw, because we all have one, none of us are perfect. I don't hear judgement, what I hear is sympathy. In fact, I think Prince did a masterful job at describing the tragedy and pain of the vicious cycle without placing blame.

AnonymousFan said:

"Victim-blaming" - ugh, dear God.

What?

"Maybe you're 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"

Maybe he was just trying rhyme something with the lyrics

"Why?" and

"When Doves Cry"

"Satisfied" isn't a perfect rhyme but it has the right vowell sound.

[Edited 6/13/16 22:00pm]

[Edited 6/13/16 22:01pm]

CNickyD said:

Oh, geez... It's a song. Just like poetry, the lyrics can apply to anyone's individual circumstances. Some of it may apply to the writer's life...or it may not.

.

.

nothing about that song bothers me. it is the perfect song.

.

.

Bunsterdk said:

It makes me think that he was aware of the influence our upbringing has on our ability to build and sustain relationships. If we are not careful, we continue the traits of our parents, including the negative ones. I love this song and it is spot on for those of us with more than the average amount of childhood trauma, I think. He doesn't even address the heavier issues he himself faced when he was a child, but to me it is there between the lines.

Agree wholeheartedly

jdcxc said:

I don't tie the lyrics too close to the movie's (which was not written by Prince) misogyny. I think the song is more specifically about his real parent's personality types which he has talked about before. His mother was wild and searching...his dad was cold and direct. Btw...lol...Sometimes jokingly, I tease my girlfriend that she is acting like Prince's mother.

In which interview did he talk about his mother and her wild searchiness?

SPYZFAN1 said: