"Mother and Child Reunion" is a song by Paul Simon on his album, Paul Simon (1972), his first solo album after Bridge Over Troubled Water. It was released as a single on February 5, 1972, reaching #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts, and was one of the earliest songs by a white musician to feature prominent elements of reggae.
The song was inspired by Simon's grief over the death of his family's dog, while he has said that the title has its origin in a chicken-and-egg dish called "Mother and Child Reunion" that Simon saw on a Chinese restaurant's menu. James Benninghof writes that Simon predicts the title event, the "mother and child reunion," while the second verse describes the effect of what happened on "the strange and mournful day," but without making clear what it was.
The song was recorded in Jamaica with singer Jimmy Cliff's backing group. Guitarist Huks ("Hux") Brown and bass guitarist Jackie Jackson were also long-time members of reggae legends Toots & the Maytals. Cissy Houston, mother of singer Whitney Houston, sang background vocals on this song.
Read more about Mother And Child Reunion: Personnel, In Media, Charts
Famous quotes containing the words mother and/or child:
“I’ve been described as a tough and noisy woman, a prize fighter, a man-hater, you name it. They call me Battling Bella, Mother Courage, and a Jewish mother with more complaints than Portnoy. There are those who say I’m impatient, impetuous, uppity, rude, profane, brash, and overbearing. Whether I’m any of those things, or all of them, you can decide for yourself. But whatever I am —and this ought to be made very clear—I am a very serious woman.”
—Bella Abzug (b. 1920)
“Children need people in order to become human.... It is primarily through observing, playing, and working with others older and younger than himself that a child discovers both what he can do and who he can become—that he develops both his ability and his identity.... Hence to relegate children to a world of their own is to deprive them of their humanity, and ourselves as well.”
—Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917)