Mama Kin
| "Mama Kin" | |
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| Song |
"Mama Kin" is a song written by Steven Tyler and recorded by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was released as the first single from their self-titled debut album in 1973.
Lyrical interpretation
It is likely that the song's message is about keeping in touch with your family ("Keep in touch with Mama Kin, tell her where you gone and been") no matter how busy your life may be ("sleeping late and smokin' tea"). It has also been said that "Mama Kin" is Steven Tyler's idea of a spiritual force that drives creativity and pleasure. "Keep in touch with Mama Kin" means remembering the desires that drive you to excel.
The phrase "smokin' tea" was changed from Sleeping late in Sunapee, a small town in New Hampshire, to sleeping late and smokin' tea[citation needed]. The line is sometimes changed to "smokin' weed" live.
The lyrical reference to being "bald as an egg at eighteen" is a nod to the band's longtime friend who was bald and envious of his friends' wild, long hair styles[citation needed].
Song structure
The song comprises a basic guitar riff, with a strong rhythm backbeat which comes in between lyrics in the verse and throughout the bridge. There are also saxophones interspersed throughout the song.
Legacy
Despite never reaching any of the major charts, the song receives a good amount of airplay on most AOR and other rock radio stations.
The song has also been a live staple of Aerosmith concerts throughout their career (including up to their most recent tour in 2006). Live versions of the song appeared on Live! Bootleg, Classics Live, and A Little South of Sanity.
The song has also appeared on several Aerosmith compilations including Gems (1988), Pandora's Box (1991), Pandora's Toys (1995), O, Yeah! The Ultimate Aerosmith Hits (2002), Greatest Hits 1973-1988 (2004), and "Devil's Got a New Disguise" (2006).
Noteworthy references to the song
- In the early 1990s, the band opened up a music club called the Mama Kin Music Hall in their hometown of Boston, Massachusetts - the club has since closed.
- Steven Tyler has a tattoo on his arm with the phrase "Ma' Kin." He got it when they were writing their first album because he had so much confidence in the song. Tyler and Perry have both said that his arm was too thin to fit the whole title.
Guns N' Roses version
The song was covered by Guns N' Roses in 1986 and released in the same year in their EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide. It was later re-released on their 1988 EP G N' R Lies.
