Kinks, The - Some Mother's Son Lyrics

Powerful imagery

Some mother's son lies in a field
Someone has killed some mother's son today
Head blown up by some soldier's gun
While all the mothers stand and wait
Some mother's son ain't coming home today
Some mothers son ain't got no grave

Two soldiers fighting in a trench
One soldier glances up to see the sun
And dreams of games he played when he was young
And then his friend calls out his name
It stops his dream and as he turns his head
A second later he is dead

Some mother's son lies in a field
Back home they put his picture in a frame
But all dead soldiers look the same
While all the parents stand and wait
To meet their children coming home from school
Some mother's son is lying dead

Somewhere someone is crying
Someone is trying to be so brave
But still the world keeps turning
Though all the children have gone away

Some mother's son lies in a field
But in his mother's eyes he looks the same
As on the day he went away

They put his picture on the wall
They put flowers in the picture frame
Some mothers memory remains

This band is ridiculously influential.

No wonder Britain threw her past away. The 60s were the generation whose grandfathers had been killed en masse. Who was left to show them what was good? Who among whom was left was capable of showing them?

Oh wow, I just realized where I heard “some mothers son” before: “she leaves him lying in a HEAP - she wants to be his woman” - this music is so good that Leonard Cohen stole from it. Amazing.

Had this been seen on tv it would have been the 1st rock oprer ut it was not sp mr townsend did he,s thing to make the who the 1st

Joder! !!Eran tan buenos...

"One soldier glances up and see´s the SUN" always makes me cry, IMMEDIATELY. Like he suddenly forgets were he is, and is relieved in the moment before death. The build-up to that is so sensere and well-thought off; Ray changes his tone of voice in the first verse; "Two Soldiers FightinG In a TRENCH", and you almost hear the drums marching in the background - then the guitar starts to weep in the background like small puppies crying for their owner. Lyrics, melody, chorus; Everything is so perfectly written and recorded - this is one is sharing the number Uno position in my "Best songs EVER MADE" (together with You Can´t Put your arms around a memory by Johnnyboy)

Modern song smiths take note

I'm here because Graham Coxon just posted this on Twitter...

The Imperial War Museum in Manchester, shows this song among other legends as brilliant and iconic and a commemorative war song. I think it truly shows the heart break of war rather than the romance POV they have of it in 2018.

Ray Davies is a genius...he's written a multitude of great songs, but in my opinion, this is his greatest.

03:12 Even they're wailing.

They really paint clear pictures with the words here. It's like watching a movie.

This song is so damn sad!

U r the cool beans of the kinks

John Lennon lyrics

Some mother's son lies in a field
Someone has killed some mother's son today
Head blown up by some soldier's gun
While all the mothers stand and wait
Some mother's son ain't coming home today
Some mothers son ain't got no grave
Two soldiers fighting in a trench
One soldier glances up to see the sun
And dreams of games he played when he was young
And then his friend calls out his name
It stops his dream and as he turns his head
A second later he is dead
Some mother's son lies in a field
Back home they put his picture in a frame
But all dead soldiers look the same
While all the parents stand and wait
To meet their children coming home from school
Some mother's son is lying dead
Somewhere someone is crying
Someone is trying to be so brave
But still the world keeps turning
Though all the children have gone away
Some mother's son lies in a field
But in his mother's eyes he looks the same
As on the day he went away
They put his picture on the wall
They put flowers in the picture frame
Some mothers memory remains

What a beautiful song. It actually gives me tears- that doesn't happen often. (And by the way, this is not the place to spam Beatles vs Kinks comments. Go on a forum and suss that out. And yes, I love both bands.)

"But all dead soldiers look the same"

The best protest song ever written

Yeah friends, the kinks- one of the most missunderstand bands

I hope our new pres doesn't get into another war.We have been at war for at least 14 yrs,now , not one war but two and they are still send some people home with no limbs to this day thanks to Bush. Even Reagan wasn't that fucking stupid, OK Just saying.

I think this along with Waylon Jennings "6 white horses" are my favorite Vietnam songs

Josh Johnson I wouldn't really say it's about Vietnam in partiqualar. It's more about war in general.

This Kinks record was recorded for a movie that was never made it was going about an Englishman who moves to Australia after WW1, There are a few songs about WW2 on this, go figure.This was another flop for them but there are some pretty good songs on this record , never a protest album but this maybe the best antiwar song ever written

a song that is relevant today as it was when it came out. time goes and the wars carry on. gut wrenching.

Always loved the KInks, and held them in the highest esteem. Ray and Dave wrote some gems, this one is a great example.

Finally, Ray gets the honour he deserves - a Knighthood.

These are not anti-war songs, at least for me. This makes me wanna go to war :) to fight for those who can't, especially those who are good at singing and entertaining and children etc.

I never listened to the lyrics much before and my god I am tearing up..

you'll never see a politician letting their own son go to war.

The Queen's son and Grandson went to war.

Lenny Henry and if as some high-ranked officer sending people into their death

Lenny Henry Teddy Roosevelt's son went

Lenny Henry Stalin’s son went too

There is NEVER a time when I DON'T cry my eyes out to this song. It takes me 15 or so minutes just to control myself. The imagery just hits me too hard. It's so brutal.

Just glad to be in the light part of YouTube.

the way every line developes leaves you speechless
also the kinks are the band with the best back voclas during the song

小生本年還暦、確か中学の時に毎日聴いていたきがします。ジャケットが特別な変わったタイプで好きでした。懐かしい

How is it that this video has been on You Tube for 7 years, but has only had 70,958 views? It should be required listening in every school; this might make people a bit less trigger happy. When I think how little time it takes Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift to clock up 71,000 views, when their music is so vacuous and trite, there seems to be no justice in the world.

Agree , but a different time , and ideals , sad !

Don't blame the young people we have been in 2 wars for almost 20 years, they think it's normal to be in 2 wars that started before they were born

MEMORIAL DAY ANTHEM

Wonderful song.

Some Mother's son
Some mother's son lies in a field
Someone has killed some mother's son today
Head blown up by some soldier's gun
While all the mothers stand and wait
Some mother's son ain't coming home today
Some mothers son ain't got no grave

Two soldiers fighting in a trench
One soldier glances up to see the sun
And dreams of games he played when he was young
And then his friend calls out his name
It stops his dream and as he turns his head
A second later he is dead

Some mother's son lies in a field
Back home they put his picture in a frame
But all dead soldiers look the same
While all the parents stand and wait
To meet their children coming home from school
Some mother's son is lying dead

Somewhere someone is crying
Someone is trying to be so brave
But still the world keeps turning
Though all the children have gone away

Some mother's son lies in a field
But in his mother's eyes he looks the same
As on the day he went away

They put his picture on the wall
They put flowers in the picture frame
Some mothers memory remains

Thank You.

Beautiful and tragic.

Genius, just love this song to death

This song is so heart-wrenching I could barely listen to it when i first heard the album for how sad it is.
"Two soldiers fighting in a trench
one soldier glances up to see the sun
and dreams of games he played when he was young
and then his friend calls out his name..."

That line really got to me. That young man dreaming about his warm childhood with family and friends in the midst of this horror, only to be torn from his dreams and life. The imagery in lyricism of the whole song is beautiful, and I love the gentle, peaceful singing increasing in intensity when he says
"they put his picture on the wall, and put the flowers in the picture frame..." It has the intensity of passionate yelling, but Ray is still singing in a controlled, gentle voice. Absolute genius, the whole song is.

and "but all dead soldiers look the same"

Loved it when I was 12 love it still to this day

I agree

could there be a better war protest song?  no :(

Not so much anti-war as pro-soldier?

This song is lamenting the death of someone due to war, thats pretty antiwar. Honoring the soldier as well for sure but its really both which makes it a great song in that its sad both for the war and the soldier. War is bad and that we should honor soldiers should not be viewed as such different things.

Lyrics:
Some mother's son lies in a field
Someone has killed some mother's son today
Head blown up by some soldier's gun
While all the mothers stand and wait
Some mother's son ain't coming home today
Some mothers son ain't got no grave

Two soldiers fighting in a trench
One soldier glances up to see the sun
And dreams of games he played when he was young
And then his friend calls out his name
It stops his dream and as he turns his head
A second later he is dead

Some mother's son lies in a field
Back home they put his picture in a frame
But all dead soldiers look the same
While all the parents stand and wait
To meet their children coming home from school
Some mother's son is lying dead

Somewhere someone is crying
Someone is trying to be so brave
But still the world keeps turning
Though all the children have gone away

Some mother's son lies in a field
But in his mother's eyes he looks the same
As on the day he went away

They put his picture on the wall
They put flowers in the picture frame
Some mothers memory remains

This song makes me cry! Amazing from the kinks as always

Man this song makes me feel sad...

thats sad makes me feel song

Ray Davies could have written this as a remembrance song for 2014.... 100 years since....

I actually teared up to this song...

As I read the comments it only confirms my POV. Kinks fans are smart and thoughtful. And Ray has written has more great songs than almost anybody.

Peter Gerstenzang He sure has written a lot.

Dylan also . Ray and Bob then every one else .

One of the best anti-war songs.

The anti Beatles comments are very unfair, all these bands were brilliant, but the popular music business, found out quality didn't matter and shove out propaganda filled pulp. X factor generation.

Pogol Swood the beatles were brilliant when they started. The eagerness just ate their imagination afterwards. Listen to Magical mistery tour and you'll see.

I don't think Magical Mystery Tour is nearly as bad as what people make it out to be.

Monsieur La Guillotine I agree. I think it is a good album; it just pales somewhat in comparison to Pepper.

I'm glad that some commenters here have fought back against the Sgt. Pepper shredding. it's simply counter-productive, and misguided. There's no place for it. This is fantastic. So was that.
As for The Beatles, or The Rolling Stones for that matter, being unthreatening, ask yourself why they became targets for overbroad and overzealous prosecutions by the London police whom Lennon immortalized as the Blue Meanies, as well as being targeted by the lunatic Christian right in the United States.

Sgt. Pepper was an attempt to approach the genius of Pet Sounds and Smile! by the Beach Boys.
It failed.
The Beatles are sadly very overrated in a world where there were the Stones, the Beach Boys, the Kinks, the Who, the Jefferson Airplane... all who were better bands.
But the world will always continue to worship safe "boy bands" like the beatles. They never threatened anyone with their message, so they were lauded. A band even the parents and the Pop marketing executives could love.

+eurydicejones You are a joke, man... I expect you have changed your mind over those four years

Are you suggestinig that we just do away with a department of defense?

Great song. Extremely important to have a conscience.

This is one of the most powerful and poignant antiwar songs ever written. Long live the Kinks.

i fucking love the transition in ray davies voice at 2:03

dude, sgt pepper was an excellent experimental unique album even back then in those standards, and especially in todays standards, there isnt one album sounding like that back then or nowadays, its a one of a kind album, the sound was ahead of that era, but is associated with that time period because of how fucking huge that album was and how popular the beatles were. both "Arthur" and "Sgt Pepper" are fucking magnificent albums in their right regardless of the era though.

I can explain to you why this might seem timeless while Sgt. Pepper might not. This song is a fairly simple arrangement, and has no major indicators of the era in which it was written. Sgt. Pepper features a huge arrangement that probably took a little more time to piece together. It also has a lot of brass which is uncommon by today's standards. If you call Sgt. Pepper dated, to me that simply means it's of a bygone era and couldn't have been created today. Both songs are fantastic, regardless.

You should spend a day listening to Rubber Soul and the White Album. Give yourself the pleasure of listening to the Beatles without anybody else's opinions floating in your head. Pretend you are listening to them for the first time and don't let past thoughts seep in. Close your eyes; give yourself a break. And you will never stop loving the Kinks. People will always compare those 50's-70's Brit bands. It's in the blood.

Should be played at the end of every shift at the Pentagon.

lol So you don't understand why people are comparing the Kinks and The Beatles... yet you add fuel to the fire with your bold statements of dismissal. Anyway, I don't think "superficial" is an appropriate word to describe songs like I Am The Walrus. Give it a listen.

hahaha well said.

Dick Cheney should be required to listen to this song every day for the rest of his life. Oh yeah, and spend the rest of that life in prison.

Greatest anti-war song ever. No anger, no hatred. Just sorrow and sadness.

this song surely will humble you to the core!

how can this song have only 11,438 views on January 15 2011?

The beatles and the kinks ar both amazing, although I like the beatles slightly more simply because the kinks didn't have the same consistancy in the 70s and onwards. But it is to bad that the kinks never reached the same amount of popularity as the beatles, stones, beach boys and other great bands back then, they desirved it for sure.

This has been running through my head all morning. What a powerful piece.
October 16, 2010

Alex says Ray Davies is most certainly NOT Welsh!

Possibly the greatest song about war ever.

@sionimaesyrhandir
Yes, but little do you know that he is really half owl half man and half gypsy

wow ! i didnt hear this song for ages

The mid/late 60's had some artists who went back to their childhood, in a drug fogged haze. And some even captured that essence. What the Kinks did here was to mix innocence with the life changing, or ending, face of war. "Two soldiers fighting in a trench, one soldier glances up to see the sun, and dreams of games he played when he was young, and then his friend calls out his name, it stops his dreams, and as he turns his head, a second later he is dead" It's very moving stuff.

heh, sorry didn't see notaphaser's comment and yours

I wouldn't say it's like the floyd so much, it's more like waters

Arrrggghh! This song gets to me!

yossarian u berk the kinks are great, so r the beatles they r both timeless u fool! Who can disagree with that?!

Never fails to bring a tear to my eye as well. Really gets me when I think that could of been my Grandfather and I would of never of existed...or loved,laughed, or cried.