"Oh Mother" is a song by American singer Christina Aguilera from her fifth studio album, Back to Basics (2006). The song was released on August 13, 2007, by RCA Records as the fourth and final single from the album in European territories, while "Slow Down Baby" was serviced as the final single in Oceania. It was written by Aguilera, Derryck Thornton, Mark Rankin, Liz Thornton, Christophe Barratier, Bruno Coulais and Kara DioGuardi. Production was done by Big Tank and Q, with L Boggie credited as co-producer and Aguilera serviced as additional producer.
"Oh Mother" is a downtempo piano ballad that talks about Aguilera's abusive childhood. It incorporates various musical instruments, from strings to keyboards. It contains a sample from "Vois Sur Ton Chemin", written by Bruno Coluais and Christopher Barratler. Upon its release, the song was met with mainly positive reviews from contemporary music critics. It also managed to enter charts in Europe with moderate success.
Background and recording
After releasing Stripped (2002) and collaborating with many different artists, Aguilera decided to record new old-school style materials for her upcoming album. She later explained that the lengthy break allowed her to write a lot about what she had experienced during that time. Aguilera also explained that she wanted to bring something novel to her album, which has 24 songs on it. She wanted to try to evolve as an artist and a visionary. As a result, Back to Basics, Aguilera's fifth studio album, is made up of two discs. On the first disc, she worked with "more beat-driven" producers, such as DJ Premier and Mark Ronson, who included samples in the production. The second one was written and produced solely by longtime producer Linda Perry. Aguilera sent letters to different producers that she hoped could help her with the direction she was taking for the project, encouraging them to experiment, re-invent and create a modern soul feel. She described the first disc as "kind of a throwback with elements of jazz, blues and soul music combined with a modern-day twist, like hard-hitting beats".
"Oh Mother" was written by Aguilera, Derryck Thornton, Mark Rankin, Liz Thornton, Christophe Barratier, Bruno Coulais and Kara DioGuardi. Production was done by Big Tank and Q, with L Boggie credited as co-producer and Aguilera serviced as additional producer. Piano and keyboards were provided by V. Young, while Rob Lewis served guitar and arranging. Lewis also played string instruments with Aroussiak Baltaian, Daniel Seidenberg, Garik Terzian, Ilana Setapen, Joel Pargman and Maia Jasper.
Composition
"Oh Mother" is a piano ballad. Written in the key of C♯ minor, it is a downtempo track with a moderate tempo of 88 beats per minute. "Oh Mother" has a chord progression of C♯m–A/C♯–F♯m–G♯7 at the beginning. Aguilera's vocal range on the track spans from the low-note of F♯3 to the high-note of E5. The track's instrumentation comes from guitar, strings, piano and keyboards. It also features a sample of "Vois Sur Ton Chemin", written by Bruno Coluais and Christopher Barratler. Spence D. for IGN called the track's melody "lulling" and "lithe".
According to Aguilera herself, "Oh Mother" talks about her abusive childhood. She revealed, "I think going through what I went through at a young age – the abuse that went on in my household – did affect me a lot. Domestic violence is a topic that is very hush-hush in society". Aguilera recalls the domestic violence of her childhood as she sings, "He took his anger out on her face, she kept all of her pain locked away". Nick Levine for Digital Spy said that "Oh Mother" is a "retread" of "I'm OK", a song with the same topic from Aguilera's 2002 album Stripped.
Release
"Oh Mother" was serviced as the fourth and final single from Back to Basics in Europe: on September 28, 2007, it was available for digital downloads in Switzerland; on October 8, 2007, it was available for CD single sales in the United Kingdom. In Germany, the song was purchased as a CD single and as a digital download single on November 23, 2007. In the United Kingdom, "Oh Mother" was available for digital download on December 31, 2007. The single also impacted radio stations of countries in Europe including Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, and Austria in late 2007.