Mother don't worry, I killed the last snake that lived in the creek bed
Mother don't worry, I've got some money I saved for the weekend
Mother remember being so stern with that girl who was with me?
Mother remember the blink of an eye when I breathed through your body?

So may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten
Sons are like birds, flying upward over the mountain

Mother I made it up from the bruise on the floor of this prison
Mother I lost it, all of the fear of the Lord I was given
Mother forget me now that the creek drank the cradle you sang to
Mother forgive me, I sold your car for the shoes that I gave you

So may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten
Sons could be birds, taken broken up to the mountain

Mother don't worry, I've got a coat and some friends on the corner
Mother don't worry, she's got a garden we're planting together
Mother remember the night that the dog got her pups in the pantry?
Blood on the floor, fleas on their paws,
And you cried 'til the morning

So may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten
Sons are like birds, flying always over the mountain

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Lyrics submitted by slickboot, edited by manhattan01, Mellow_Harsher

Upward Over the Mountain Lyrics as written by Samuel Ervin Beam

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Upward Over the Mountain song meanings

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General Comment
This is an absolutely amazing song. Such profound lyrics rarely seen in popular music. To me its about the mother/child relationship. The son as a monologue to the mother seeks to reassure her that he is grown and capable of being independent as it seems that the mother is overprotective to possibly a damaging degree. Here is my take on a few of the lines:

"sons are like birds flying upward over the mountain" He's leaving the protective nest of the mother and is capable of great things on his own. essentially the point of the song.

"mother forgive me, i sold your car for the shoes that i gave you" I don't see this as literal at all, I think its symbolic that the son feels responsible for sacrifices the mother had to make to raise her child. His presence in her life limited the possibilities for her life. Slowed her down, i.e. trading a car for shoes.

"mother don't worry, she's got a garden we're planting together" Symbolic of the cycle of life. The son is grown and is capable of starting his own family. That devastating line "mother remember the blink of an eye when i breathed through your body?" also is part of that cylce of life that is often fleeting.

"mother remember the night that the dog had her pups in the pantry? blood on the floor and the fleas on their paws and you cried 'til the morning" This is pure genius, and never fails to bring a tear to my eye. I love the way his voice gets quiet when singing these lines. The image of the pups being born in a painful (blood) and imperfect (fleas) way is again symbolic of the mother/son relationship as a necessary part of the cycle of life. A moment that is both beautiful and painful summarizes the mother son relationship that is both loving and difficult at the same time.

This is an absolutely amazing song. Such profound lyrics rarely seen in popular music. To me its about the mother/child relationship. The son as a monologue to the mother seeks to reassure her that he is grown and capable of being independent as it seems that the mother is overprotective to possibly a damaging degree. Here is my take on a few of the lines: "sons are like birds flying upward over the mountain" He's leaving the protective nest of the mother and is capable of great things on his own. essentially the point of the song. "mother forgive me, i sold your car for the shoes that i gave you" I don't see this as literal at all, I think its symbolic that the son feels responsible for sacrifices the mother had to make to raise her child. His presence in her life limited the possibilities for her life. Slowed her down, i.e. trading a car for shoes. "mother don't worry, she's got a garden we're planting together" Symbolic of the cycle of life. The son is grown and is capable of starting his own family. That devastating line "mother remember the blink of an eye when i breathed through your body?" also is part of that cylce of life that is often fleeting. "mother remember the night that the dog had her pups in the pantry? blood on the floor and the fleas on their paws and you cried 'til the morning" This is pure genius, and never fails to bring a tear to my eye. I love the way his voice gets quiet when singing these lines. The image of the pups being born in a painful (blood) and imperfect (fleas) way is again symbolic of the mother/son relationship as a necessary part of the cycle of life. A moment that is both beautiful and painful summarizes the mother son relationship that is both loving and difficult at the same time.

Reason:

juchmuon October 13, 2005 Link
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@juchmu

Ah, I definitely agree about the car and the shoes part. I was going through the lyrics just in case someone made the same interpretation as I did.<br /> <br /> "Mother forgive me<br /> I sold your car for the shoes that I gave you"<br /> It definitely is symbolic -- because of him, his mother was traded in a harder way through life than the easier, more ergonomic way. Between walking by foot and driving a car down a road, it's not much of a choice there.

Memqueenon December 27, 2008