MOTHER’S LITTLE HELPER

Mother’s Little Helper

SONG & HIT DETAILS

Artist Name: THE ROLLING STONES

Song Author: Jagger/Richards

Year Recorded: 1965

SONG PROFILE

Mother’s Little Helper

“Mother’s Little Helper” (shown as “Mothers Little Helper” on the original US single’s label) is a song by the English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones. It first appeared as the opening track to the United Kingdom version of their 1966 album Aftermath.

It was released as a single in the United States and peaked at # 8 on the Billboard Singles Charts in 1966. The B-side “Lady Jane” peaked at # 24.

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, “Mother’s Little Helper” was recorded in Los Angeles from 3–8 December 1965. The song deals with the darker perspective of the use of barbiturates, specifically Nembutal (pentobarbitone), among housewives.

Kids are different today, I hear ev’ry 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 a mother’s little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day

Toward the end of the song, the mothers are warned:

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

The song is based around folksy chords and an eastern-flavoured guitar riff sounding like a sitar. Keith Richards has been quoted that he remembers the signature riff as being slide played on an electric 12-string. It has also been documented that it was played by Brian Jones on his Vox 12-string Mando-Guitar. Richards also remembers the ending of the song being the idea of Bill Wyman, whose driving bass is a distinctive feature of the studio track.