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Mother's Little Helper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Mother's Little Helper" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by Rolling Stones | ||
| from the album Aftermath | ||
| Released | July 2, 1966 | |
| Format | 7" | |
| Recorded | December 3-December 8, 1965 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 2 min 45 s | |
| Label | Decca/ABKCO | |
| Producer(s) | Andrew Loog Oldham | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Rolling Stones singles chronology | ||
| "Paint It, Black" (1966) |
"Mother's Little Helper" (1966) |
"Lady Jane" (1966) |
"Mother's Little Helper" is a song by the English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones. It first appeared as the opening track to the UK version of their 1966 album Aftermath.
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Mother's Little Helper" was recorded in Los Angeles from December 3 to the 8 of 1965. The song talks of prescription drug abuse (Valium) and sheds a light on the darker perspective of housewives, intoning:
| “ | Life's just much too hard today / I hear ev'ry mother say / The pursuit of happiness just seems a bore / And if you take more of those / you will get an overdose / No more running for the shelter / of a mother's little helper | ” |
The song is based around folky chords and an eastern-flavored guitar riff often mistaken for a sitar riff. The riff is actually a 12-string electric guitar played with a slide. The end part of the song was the idea of Bill Wyman.
It was released as a single in the US and topped the chart at #8.
The song was covered in 2005 by Liz Phair for the soundtrack to the popular television series, Desperate Housewives. The song was performed by Jean-Louis Aubert and Alain Bashung during the January 2007 Les aventuriers d'un autre monde Tour.