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"Mother of Violence'" is a song written and recorded by English musician Peter Gabriel. The song appeared on his 1978 solo album Peter Gabriel and was also issued as a B-side to the re-release of "D.I.Y", the only single lifted from the album.

Background

Gabriel decided to open the song with the sound of insects after listening to a wildlife programme on BBC Radio 4. The programme covered a tape recording competition, which among other things, featured the sounds of clicking insects. Gabriel found these noises appealing and decided to incorporate them into "Mother of Violence". As the song progresses, the cricket chirps were later replaced by buzzing noise, which was achieved through guitar feedback. The insect noises were removed from the single mix of "Mother of Violence", which was one of the B-sides to the September 1978 re-release of "D.I.Y". This mix was later included on Gabriel's 2019 Flotsam and Jetsam compilation album.

Gabriel envisioned a "rural-sounding arrangement" for "Mother of Violence", which he wanted to juxtapose with urban imagery. It is largely built around piano accompaniment from Roy Bittan and acoustic/pedal steel guitar playing from Sid McGinnis.

The song carries a co-writing credit from Jill Gabriel, who was Peter's wife at the time. The two were members of a local drama group when they created the song, which was intended for a children's Christmas carol at their village church. Jill was responsible for the melody, which Peter wanted to use on his second solo album. Peter crafted some of the lyrics on a day when he was eating "junk food" and "trapped in a negative state of mind" while watching television. Gabriel later acknowledged that he was "very conscious of the P&L (Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney) vibe" with the musical partnership between himself and Jill on the song.

Gabriel remarked in an interview with Steve Clarke of NME that he thought of himself "as an optimist with pessimistic tendencies" and said that he wrote the song on a day where those tendencies had surfaced. He believed that the lyrics reflected a "negative state of mind" that can get compounded when exposed to fear propagated on the news. For the TV dinner lyric, Gabriel envisioned himself "in periods of depression when moccasin shoes sounded better than bedroom slippers."

Critical reception

In his review of Gabriel's 1978 self-titled album, Steve Clarke of NME described "Mother of Violence" as a "gentle song with acoustic guitar and piano" that capitalised on the more "mellifluous side of voice". He also thought that the song's instrumentation concealed its darker and more foreboding lyrics. Also in NME, Nick Kent wrote that Roy Bittan's piano playing on "Mother of Violence" "outstripp anything he's turned out for either Bruce Springsteen or David Bowie." Mick Brown of The Guardian felt that Robert Fripp's production work was effective at demonstrating the subtleties found in the musical arrangement found on "Mother of Violence", which Brown described as "chillingly beautiful".

Live performances

Gabriel later performed "Mother of Violence" during his 1978-9179 Scratch tour. For his 14 December show, Lloyd Sachs of Rolling Stone said that Gabriel sang a "rather moving" performance of the song at the foot of the crowd, but believed that he "quickly wasted that mood at the song's conclusion with a series of infantile la la las and a spastic look on his face." On 26 August 1979, he performed the song as a duet with Phil Collins in Reading, Berkshire.

Bill Provick characterised "Mother of Violence" as a "traditional, melodic song" that focused on lyricism and said that Gabriel's live performance of the song in Ottawa was a "pleasing panorama of moods." Writing for The Guardian, Robin Denselow identified "Mother of Violence" as a song in Gabriel's set that possessed "bleak lyrics that contrasted so strangely with his boyish, amiable approach. Reviewing his performance at the Hammersmith Apollo, Tim Lott singled out "Mother of Violence" as a "soft and direct ballad that impressed, simply because Gabriel's voice fits that approach." "Mother of Violence" was later played for Gabrie's 2007 Warm Up Tour, with his daughter Melanie handling lead vocals.

Brian Eno cover

In 2010, Gabriel released an album of orchestral covers titled Scratch My Back, which included a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes". The original concept of this project was to engage in a song exchange where the artists covered on Scratch My Back would return the favour by recording their rendition of a Gabriel composition, which would be released the companion album And I'll Scratch Yours. Bowie ultimately did not contribute to this project, so Brian Eno, who co-wrote "Heroes", tackled this responsibility instead. Eno's planned to cover Gabriel's "In Your Eyes", but then settled on "Mother of Violence" after he ruled out "Don't Break This Rhythm", the B-side to "Sledgehammer". For his rendition, Eno primarily handled the vocal delivery with a spoken word approach.

Personnel

• Peter Gabriel – vocals
• Sid McGinnis – acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar
• Robert Fripp – electric guitar
• Roy Bittan – keyboards
• John Tims – insects (3)

References

1. ^ Birch, Ian (1 July 1978). "Peter Gabriel, Latest Edition: Gabriel's World of Mystery". Melody Maker. pp. 10, 46. Retrieved 8 January 2025 – via World Radio History.
2. ^ Scarfe, Graeme (2021). Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. pp. 131–132. ISBN 978-1-78952-138-2.
3. ^ Marziano, Alfredo; Perasi, Luca (2024). Peter Gabriel: The Rhythm Has My Soul. Milan, Italy: L.I.L.Y Publishing. pp. 37–38. ISBN 978-88-909122-5-2.
4. ^ Bowman, Durrell (2 September 2016). Experiencing Peter Gabriel: A Listener's Companion. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 65. ISBN 9781442252004.
5. Bright, Spencer (1988). Peter Gabriel: An Authorized Biography. London, UK: Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 89. ISBN 0-283-99498-3.
6. ^ Clarke, Steve (20 January 1979). "The Technology of Being Gabriel". NME. p. 23. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
7. Valentine, Penny (23 December 1978). "The lamb brought down in Parisl". Melody Maker. pp. 13–14. Archived from the original on 11 September 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
8. Clarke, Steve (3 June 1978). "Through the Dark, Brightly". NME. p. 39. Retrieved 5 January 2025 – via The Genesis Archives.
9. Kent, Nick (10 June 1978). "Gabriel: The Image Gets a Tweak". NME. p. 33. Retrieved 5 January 2025 – via The Genesis Archives.
10. Brown, Mick (19 August 1978). "The clean-cut approach". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2025 – via The Genesis Archives.
11. Sachs, Lloyd (14 December 1978). "Peter Gabriel: Wacky But WonderfulMystery". Rolling Stone. p. 108. Archived from the original on 16 August 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
12. Provick, Bill (16 October 1978). "Rock Star Makes Unusual Music". Ottawa Citizen. p. 36. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via The Genesis Archive.
13. Denselow, Robin (22 December 1978). "Hammersmith: Peter Gabriel". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
14. Lott, Tim (30 December 1978). "Peter Gabriel, Hammersmith Odeon, London". Record Mirror. Retrieved 10 January 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
15. "Peter Gabriel covers album tracklisting and release date confirmed". UNCUT. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
16. Easlea, Daryl (March 23, 2018). Without Frontiers: The Life & Music of Peter Gabriel. 14-15 Berners Street, London: Omnibus Press. p. 355. ISBN 978-0-85712-860-7. Retrieved 7 January 2025.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

• 1978 songs
• Peter Gabriel songs
• Songs written by Peter Gabriel