Mother

Album: single release only (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Charlie Puth is not the nice, well-mannered guy his girlfriend's mom thinks he is. She's told her daughter the singer is "better than the last one you brought around." However, once Charlie and his love interest are free from her mom's company, they get up to all sorts of mischief.

    If your mother knew all the things we do
    If your mother knew, she'd keep me so far from you


    Charlie just pretends to be a decent upstanding guy when around his girlfriend's mom.
  • Puth croons the song from the perspective of a teenager. According to the singer, "'Mother' is about the high school experience I never had."
  • This summery song with an '80s-inspired beat was co-penned and co-produced by Puth with Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, frequent Post Malone collaborator Louis Bell, and Camila Cabello co-writer Andrew Watt. Puth told Radio.com: "It's just supposed to be like a fun, carefree, everything is so serious in the world why not take a like a three minute break kind of thing."
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers stickman Chad Smith contributed drums to the song - he and Puth previously worked together on an Ozzy Osbourne album. Smith came on board when Puth played him "Mother." "I can add something to this," Smith told him.
  • The first verse is, according to Puth, lyrically truthful.

    He's so much better than the last one you brought around
    Please and thank you, everything matters
    I'm gonna make sure that she knows I'm the best she's found


    The singer told Genius: "I'm always super polite when I first meet people. I could be having the worst day ever and I'll still be totally attentive towards them."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Melanie

MelanieSongwriter Interviews

The singer-songwriter Melanie talks about her spiritual awakening at Woodstock, "Brand New Key," and why songwriting is an art, not a craft.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.