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The Rolling Stones — Mother's Little Helper
Album: Aftermath (UK Version)
Avg rating:
7.6

Your rating:
Total ratings: 929









Released: 1966
Length: 2:43
Plays (last 30 days): 0
What a drag it is getting old

"Kids are different today," I hear every mother say
Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though she's not really ill, there's a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of her mother's little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day

"Things are different today," I hear every mother say
Cooking fresh food for her husband's just a drag
So she buys an instant cake, and she burns a frozen steak
And goes running for the shelter of her mother's little helper
And two help her on her way, get her through her busy day

Doctor, please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old

"Men just aren't the same today," I hear every mother say
They just don't appreciate that you get tired
They're so hard to satisfy, you can tranquilize your mind
So go running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And four help you through the night, help to minimize your plight

Doctor, please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old

"Life's just much too hard today," I hear every 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
They just helped you on your way, through your busy dying day

Hey
Comments (56)add comment
GREAT TUNE!!   1966. ...still relevant  today!
 bam23 wrote:

I guess it was 1966. Our family has returned from multiple-week summer vacation visiting grandparents outside of Atlanta. Back in northern Ohio in my room, I heard this song for the first time on my tiny transistor radio and was in some way transfixed. Something was started that has never stopped. I suspect that  few younger listeners can appreciate how much of a wasteland was the radio world in the mid-60s: until music like this pushed through! Nothing has ever been the same.


I  Agree.  GREAT TUNE!   Thanx RP!  
Listen to ole Charlie banging away.

Oh my...
The duo Jagger / Richards may have written the songs, but the Stones with Brian Jones were on another level. 
 Lacapella wrote:

Never knew that - Dexie's Midnight Runners - explains a lot, especially the dungarees....
 

Always through it was about ludes
I guess it was 1966. Our family has returned from multiple-week summer vacation visiting grandparents outside of Atlanta. Back in northern Ohio in my room, I heard this song for the first time on my tiny transistor radio and was in some way transfixed. Something was started that has never stopped. I suspect that  few younger listeners can appreciate how much of a wasteland was the radio world in the mid-60s: until music like this pushed through! Nothing has ever been the same.
At the beginning of their authorship. And B . Jones was starting to loose the threads. 
Always liked the 'cock-er-nee' style ending.  (Thumbs required behind lapels or under braces first, for full effect.)

OI!
Reminds me of drinking lots of Pilsener beer and smoking non filtered smokes called START.  For some reason I never completely immersed myself in the Stonomania.
 cloudyfive wrote:
Ah the Strolling Bones
 
And that's just Keith.
Lol Bill, your comment about Mick finding it a drag getting old (in the 60's!!  :-0) made me laugh and laugh! Ah the Strolling Bones
 kcar wrote:

Except that Steven Tyler can't stay clean. He bragged in a 2011 autobiography that he and Joe Perry got so f—cked up in 2008 that they couldn't sing or play, forcing them to abandon an album they were working on. Tyler went into rehab in 2010...for 90 days. I'd be surprised if he ever completely quits drugs. 

 
yeah right!, think these were really skittles

Ok enough of this one.  Give is a long deserved rest.{#Grumpy}
 Hannio wrote:

Well, the evils of prescribed medication to help you cope with life, to be more specific.  As opposed to recreational self-medication, which the Stones enthusiastically embraced, of course.



 
Exactly, it was a song about the hypocrisy on the drug issue of the time.
 k-man wrote:
While this song always seems appropriate, I find it one of the most annoying tunes I can think of. It could be Brian trying to play the sitar like a guitar, or the off-beat snare/cymbal setup, but I think it's more than that. The Bears did a pretty cool cover of this one, but even that thing annoys me, so I gotta believe that for me it's the song.

 
Ah, come on! This was 1966 or so. Nothing like this existed on planet earth. Your perspective is from the future. One can find things to criticize, but this was Top 40 stuff that blew everything else on the radio out of the water.
With A Little Help From My Friends !{#Bananajam}
unfortunately I know this to be true.    

paraphrased:
There is a little yellow pill
to take thought your  ill

It will help you through your busy dying day

DOCTOR PLEASE SOME MORE
OUT SIDE THE DOOR I TOOK 4 MORE

WHAT A DRAG IT IS GETTING OLD 

 ( I find aging and growing old to be in multiple rolling stones song... a hang up...yet they play on
( keith richards still alive   how can this be???????

WHY DO some people never quit? My life seems to have segments 
the pope
supreme court  justices
aging rock stars
politicians

 
 On_The_Beach wrote:
The Stones preaching about the evils of drugs?
Oh, the irony!  ; )

 

Well, the evils of prescribed medication to help you cope with life, to be more specific.  As opposed to recreational self-medication, which the Stones enthusiastically embraced, of course.


 kcar wrote:
Except that Steven Tyler can't stay clean. He bragged in a 2011 autobiography that he and Joe Perry got so f—cked up in 2008 that they couldn't sing or play, forcing them to abandon an album they were working on. Tyler went into rehab in 2010...for 90 days. I'd be surprised if he ever completely quits drugs.
 
Yark! As Johnny Carson would say, "I did not know that.".
 On_The_Beach wrote:

Keith was a heroin addict for a loooong time (read the autobiography).
These days they're drug-free simply as a matter of self-preservation, like the boys from Aerosmith and so many others, who eventually realized they didn't want to become statistics.

 
Except that Steven Tyler can't stay clean. He bragged in a 2011 autobiography that he and Joe Perry got so f—cked up in 2008 that they couldn't sing or play, forcing them to abandon an album they were working on. Tyler went into rehab in 2010...for 90 days. I'd be surprised if he ever completely quits drugs. 
More Rolling Stones please!!!
Essential.
Perfect comment Mr Bill. Why a streaming music station run by a LIVE HUMAN trumps the rest!
Everybody in my alien space craft loves this classic song...  we love sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll...  time flies when we're having fun...
While this song always seems appropriate, I find it one of the most annoying tunes I can think of. It could be Brian trying to play the sitar like a guitar, or the off-beat snare/cymbal setup, but I think it's more than that. The Bears did a pretty cool cover of this one, but even that thing annoys me, so I gotta believe that for me it's the song.
 westslope wrote:
Beyond the Bad Boy image, most Stones live well and live carefully.

Besides, straight folks all bent out of shape on prescription drugs has been a popular counter-culture theme for a long time.  Most people I know that self-medicate on marijuana have already been the prescription drug route and didn't like it.

 
Keith was a heroin addict for a loooong time (read the autobiography).
These days they're drug-free simply as a matter of self-preservation, like the boys from Aerosmith and so many others, who eventually realized they didn't want to become statistics.
 On_The_Beach wrote:
The Stones preaching about the evils of drugs?
Oh, the irony!  ; )

 

Beyond the Bad Boy image, most Stones live well and live carefully.

Besides, straight folks all bent out of shape on prescription drugs has been a popular counter-culture theme for a long time.  Most people I know that self-medicate on marijuana have already been the prescription drug route and didn't like it.


The Stones preaching about the evils of drugs?
Oh, the irony!  ; )
 Proclivities wrote:

Valium came in different colors based on dosages; I believe the medium dosage (5mg?) was yellow.   The lyrics seem to suggest a sedative drug, not a stimulant.

"Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though she's not really ill, there's a little yellow pill..."

"...They're so hard to satisfy, you can tranquilize your mind
So go running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And four help you through the night, help to minimize your plight..."

 
Obviously, the song could be about any combination of prescription drugs which were available to housewives in 1966.

 
And today, Jan 9, comes the announcement that valium is to be removed from the market in Britain. End of an era I suppose, at least for the this brand.
 TylerE wrote:
Ugh, please source the original MONO of this...60s Stones in stereo is...painful.

 
I agree. Done.
 This my theme song "what a drag it is getting old"; last year it was "when I'm 64".
Ugh, please source the original MONO of this...60s Stones in stereo is...painful.
I love how in the player all the pics are of pills! 
 Misterfixit wrote:
Mommy is this song about DRUGS??

 

oh! no, no timmy it's my meds......
 funkyalfonso wrote:


Not Valium; It's about Dexedrine......little yellow pills......horrible amphetamines. Hence that other U.K. band's name: " Dexie's Midnight Runners".

 
Valium came in different colors based on dosages; I believe the medium dosage (5mg?) was yellow.   The lyrics seem to suggest a sedative drug, not a stimulant.

"Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though she's not really ill, there's a little yellow pill..."

"...They're so hard to satisfy, you can tranquilize your mind
So go running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And four help you through the night, help to minimize your plight..."

 
Obviously, the song could be about any combination of prescription drugs which were available to housewives in 1966.
 funkyalfonso wrote:


Not Valium; It's about Dexedrine......little yellow pills......horrible amphetamines. Hence that other U.K. band's name: " Dexie's Midnight Runners".
 
Never knew that - Dexie's Midnight Runners - explains a lot, especially the dungarees....
Nice job PSD.  The only song I really wanted to hear that the boys didn't play when I saw them in Hyde Park last Saturday.
 kurtster wrote:
Ah !  Valium ....

 

Not Valium; It's about Dexedrine......little yellow pills......horrible amphetamines. Hence that other U.K. band's name: " Dexie's Midnight Runners".
 treatment_bound wrote:
When was the last time you heard anyone use the term "drag" to describe and unfortunate event?

 
I use that term quite a lot, and I was born in '69.


 rscherm wrote:

Things are different today.

 
{#Lol}
Kinky.

Per the headphones, Mick sounds like he's by himself singing in a reverb chamber. Is this a remix/rerelease?


Mommy is this song about DRUGS??

The Last REAL GOOD Album before they changed in parodies of themselves... They were really good when they first started... I dragged a record player, this album and 12 + 5 everywhere when I was in service... Only a few albums survived...


Ah !  Valium ....
 treatment_bound wrote:
When was the last time you heard anyone use the term "drag" to describe and unfortunate event?
 
Things are different today.
This sounds a bit slowed down from what I remember.  Of course, everything back then seemed bigger than now, too.
 treatment_bound wrote:
When was the last time you heard anyone use the term "drag" to describe and unfortunate event?
 

The Album was released during 1966 so I assume the Lyrics were scribed around that time, and during the 60's this was a common adjective. It is now 2012.
Love old Stones w/few exceptions...
When was the last time you heard anyone use the term "drag" to describe an unfortunate event?
Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n Roll .... Ahh The Good Old Days
Heroes from the past,I love all the old stones stuff!
Very different than the mono version we're used to. 
One of my absolute favourite Stones tracks.  Cranked the volume - sorry neighbours.
rocker....synchronic with mick/keith.......
Surprised this have never been played before now.