Mother

Written in 2015 during a time of personal upheaval and crisis, this song expresses a perennial and archetypal theme - "the motherless child" -  that may be familiar to some: that sense of feeling bereft, homeless or empty until we find that inner source, call it mother - or father - or home - with or without capital letters. 

The essential task of mothers, as I see it, may be to teach their children how to lovingly mother/ father/ parent themselves. My gratitude goes to my enigmatic mother who lived through her own losses and loves, and who still in her 90s radiates a sense of life and joy. 

The flip-side of mothering is turning it around and becoming a childless-mother. Empty nest is a common occurrence, and identity is or lost when children leave, or die, and a parent can be left an empty shell until there is a healing re-connection with their own inner self. 

JS Bach's Preludes and Fugues are my 'desert island' books of choice; Bach somehow makes every note matter, and each piece feels like a walking meditation. As the theme threads its way through modulations and ups-and-downs, it always finds a deeply satisfying and comforting resolution.

                    

Tshego Makube is an accomplished singer at Rhodes University, currently studying a Masters in music. The music is played and recorded by myself at my home studio. This song is part of the LifeCycle playlist.