DO YOU LOVE YOUR CHILDREN
(Words and Music by Rick Springfield)
Father do you love your children
I heard you do
But Father will you help your children
We need you to
It could be worse I know it's true
But only if we plan
La la la Lady Mary....It's time to show your hand
La la la Lady Mary....And make a few demands
Children do you hope that someone
Is watching you
But do you feel the need for someone
I know I do
I think about it constantly
We really aren't that wise
La la la Lady Mary...Open up our eyes
La la la Lady Mary....And make us realize
First I have a question
I would like to know
Do you love your children
Do you love your children
Yes we really need to know
I think the time has come for you to show
Mother, do you love your children
I know you do
But mother do you know your children
Will poison you
The answer does not seem too clear
We look so hard ourselves
La la la Lady Mary...Put your books back on the shelf
La la la Lady Mary...And save us from ourselves
First I have a question
I would like to know
Do you love your children
Do you love your children
Yes we really need to know
I think the time has come for you to show
(total playing time: 6:03)
This song can be found on the Comic
Book Heroes LP
More Fan Reviews:
I've
just always thought of this as Rick's version of Crosby, Stills and Nash's "teach
your children well." Doesn't it turn into "teach your parents well, the
children's hell...?" Lots of social awareness and protests in that era.
I know I've seen the commercial with the little girl and the nuclear weapon that they
used the CSNY song for; in "Tao" Rick proved that he was
concerned about these sorts of problems, interesting that it may have been on his
mind decades before, too. Makes me wonder what I'll still be worrying
about in 20 years; in the 80's, the nuclear problem was a big deal, don't hear about it so
much any more (except in relation to the middle east).
I
can't help but take this one as a "questioning the faith" song. All I can
"hear" from this one is the question of if the "supreme being" (how's
that for politically correct...;o) loves his/her (hey I'm on a roll...LOL) people why do
they let all sorts of bad things happen? I think in saying "do you love us?" he
is really just looking for guidance, not just a "things are going to hell please fix
it" kind of plea. I take the "plan" to be the guidance part. By
saying "Mother do you know your children will poison you", he is saying people
are lost and need someone to "keep them on the path" so to speak and if there is
nothing to guide their way things are going to spiral way out of control and people will
turn away from their faith. A line that also fits in with this is the line "we really
aren't' that wise.". Like if you don't show us the way and we are left to our own
devices we are all in trouble.
I have to totally agree with that thought process. Look at all of the stuff going on in
the world today.... Evidence enough of how "off the path" a lot of people have
fallen and gone. Now that is not to say that people aren't responsible for their own
actions, but it lends credence to the idea of "plan" and "guidance" in
what is and should be acceptable or not by society..... |
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I find this song confusing. He starts out
speaking to the Father and I believed that to be GOD, then he switches to Mary, who I
interpret as the mother of Christ. But I don’t know either one of these for
sure just by the strange verses such as:
Father do you love your children
I heard you do
But Father will you help your children
We need you to
It could be worse I know it's true
But only if we plan
What the heck does that mean? Things could be worse,
but only if we plan?? Worse than the Father loving his children?
I think this is one of Rick’s many songs about
seeking the ultimate truth of God (or whatever Supreme Being you and/or he believes in,
but for me it’s just confusing. However, I love the guitar riff at the end of the
song.
This is
the first time I've really sat down and listened to what this song is saying. I
really liked the guitar parts and the music. Sometimes I think I try to reach too
deep and miss the obvious message that is trying to be delivered, but the thing that just
jumped out at me on this is I think this is about Priest molesting children... WHAT???? I
know, I'm shocked myself.
At first I thought the message was asking God if he loved his children, and the question
was being asked because there's so much pain and devastation among children and so many
bad things happen that they don't deserve and maybe Rick was asking God if he loved his
children, why would he let things like that happen. But as I was listening
to it this
morning
La la la Lady Mary....It's time to show your hand
La la la Lady Mary....And make a few demands
I'm taking this to mean that the people that know
this is going on need to speak up instead of looking the other way.
Mother, do you love your children
I know you do
But mother do you know your children
Will poison you
This line confuses me. The only thing I can even come
up with, which doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the song, the way I'm seeing
it, is that mother's give up so much to raise their children, then are left bitter when
the children grow up and move on to their own lives. I know that's not it, but I just
can't fit this in.
I actually ended up liking this song, more than I thought I would.
I never, even to this day, would have thought
of that and I have issue with my church on that particular issue being in the Boston
archdioceses.
However, I do have to admit wondering if that problem showed up in his life somewhere.
I can see where you you draw the conclusions you do because of events
in the last 10 or so years and the devastation it reeks on kids.
How about this, though. Back in the late 60's and early 70's, with the birth
of the counter culture, hippies and things, there was also the ecology movement.
Save the earth! The book, "Silent Spring" was a biggie at that time.
I'll bet RS, the book geek
read that book.
"Mother, do you love your children I know you do
But mother do you know your children, Will poison you" I've
always understood to mean poisoning the Earth. Tapping into the whole Earth
Mother thing. I also think this might be confirmed by the graphic on the album cover that
goes
along with the song. Super Rick in space pointing to the Earth.
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