Ode To My Family

This song grabbed me at an emotional level with the way she describes the support she got from her parents.

The singer describes her parents' love and support in a way that goes beyond the mundane and cliche. She could have said "My mother loved me. My father loved me", but instead she used words uncommonly used to describe the family's intimacy that she experienced and that she had with her mother and father. I think she accomplishes communicating the love she had for her family, elevating her family's closeness a notch beyond the trite standard "they loved me", with the words "My mother, my mother she hold me, she hold me", "My father, my father he liked me, he liked me" (best line of the song).

The line "when I was out there" to me, means the ghettos of Ireland, where neighborhoods were impoverished, and where she spent "half her life".

The song is about every individual who live their life "out there". But as kids, "unhappiness words" meant nothing to them because they were unaware of the circumstances of their upbringing since they knew of no other life to compare to. The only thing the kids knew was how to have fun with their friends.

But as she and her friends aged, awareness settles in. And anyone who's still "standing there" especially the youth, has a chance to break free and rise above the situation. While some will make it ("take it if you can"), some won't, but they will be given the best chance they can have if their parents furnish their home with love. This is why she is in the fortunate situation she is in - being a successful performer - and the only thing she attributes her success to is the love and support of her family ("it wasn't my design", i.e. without my family, things would be a lot different).

"Don't turn away" "Do you see me? Do you like me?" I think she is returning to her hometown of her early childhood and sees things others there cannot see; a differing perspective, and yet she also knows what they're going through because she's been there.

While she has come a long way she still cherishes her origins. Although she sees strangers on the streets of her old hometown, she sees them kind of as family because she shares a common thread with these strangers.

"Do you like me, standing there? Does anyone care?" Maybe she longs to share some friendly words and perhaps impart some advice to them -- beyond the trappings of success and beyond the circumstances you find yourself in, the only thing that matters is bringing up a loving family...