"Mama"... why?

[Land of Confusion]

Anyone have any ideas why they always drop the very last stanza when they play it live? The one that starts: "Now I can't see you Mama..." etc. The only thing I can think of is that maybe they thought that the song would be too long if they did the whole thing.

[Visionsofangels]

Originally Posted by Land of Confusion

Anyone have any ideas why they always drop the very last stanza when they play it live? The one that starts: "Now I can't see you Mama..." etc. The only thing I can think of is that maybe they thought that the song would be too long if they did the whole thing.

It's hot, too hot for me mama
but I can hardly wait
my eyes they're burning mama
and I can feel my body shake
don't stop, don't stop me mama
oh 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
oh got me running and I just can't brake
so stay don't leave me mama
cos its getting so hard

I always thought they dropped these lyrics because they were too controversial!!
I'm personally think that this song is NOT about a prostitute but about a woman having an abortion!!!!!...my theory anyway!

[Danlaw83]

Either way, it is pretty racey, so they prolly just dropped it just because of that! ALTHOUGH Visions, after seeing the tour with the Video in the background, it is OBVIOUS about a prostitute!

[jebho62]

....sooooo........I guess that Supper's Ready is about nuclear apocalypse according to the video on the first boxset.......

[Danlaw83]

no, I never heard that.....!

[jebho62]

Please watch the "Supper's Ready - Part 2" video on the surround mix disc Trick of the Tail - apocolyptic images were shown on the screen behind the band - does this mean that the band had nuclear holocaust on their minds when they wrote Supper's Ready? Maybe? Maybe not? Read the words....listen to the lyrics...shut the video off.... Does Cinema Show have anything to do with people running down a hill rolling a huge ball? All I'm saying is listen to Mama WITHOUT watching the video and keep an open mind.

[Land of Confusion]

Originally Posted by jebho62

Please watch the "Supper's Ready - Part 2" video on the surround mix disc Trick of the Tail - apocolyptic images were shown on the screen behind the band - does this mean that the band had nuclear holocaust on their minds when they wrote Supper's Ready? Maybe? Maybe not? Read the words....listen to the lyrics...shut the video off.... Does Cinema Show have anything to do with people running down a hill rolling a huge ball? All I'm saying is listen to Mama WITHOUT watching the video and keep an open mind.

Well, the song does have a section called "Apocalypse in 9/8". Hm? Oh, and Phil confirmed at the Buffalo, NY show on the latest tour that "Mama" IS about a prostitute.

[Danlaw83]

well LoC, have you ever read what PETER, the guy who wrote the lyrics, said about the song???? Have you ever heard of Judgement Day and the End Of The World, doesn't mean it is a nuclear holocaust......And the Cinema Show (video) is a Cinema Show is it NOW???? The song is about going to a movie and getting laid!

[Land of Confusion]

Originally Posted by Danlaw83

well LoC, have you ever read what PETER, the guy who wrote the lyrics, said about the song???? Have you ever heard of Judgement Day and the End Of The World, doesn't mean it is a nuclear holocaust......And the Cinema Show (video) is a Cinema Show is it NOW???? The song is about going to a movie and getting laid!

No need for hostility, I'm not here to offend. OK, maybe Apocalypse in 9/8 is not talking about a Nuclear Holocaust. I suppose there's no definite answer to what lyrics are about, it's just how the LISTENER interprets them. That said, Peter Gabriel has said he wrote Cinema Show about Romeo and Juliet having sex at a Cinema Show, so, in a slightly more broad sense, your interpretation of those lyrics is more or less correct. Anyway all I'm saying is that my personal belief about the "Mama" lyrics is that it's about a prostitute.

[martinus]

You should bear in mind that the footage used as the backdrop for Supper's Ready on the ATOTT DVD is not something Genesis came up with, but the director of the film... or the script writer.

To prove the point - if certain people associate Supper's Ready with - uh... let's pick a completely random example ... an impressionist painting that does not mean that the song is about that, does it?

That is part of the pleasure the music of Genesis brings to me - the multi-layeredness and occasionally very subtle intertextuality of their lyrics.

Brings me back to my Latin readings, actually. Did you know that in classical Latin poetry creating an utterly new form was actually not regarded very highly, whereas clever and intertextual imitation brought forth high praise for the poet?