A new song about mothering in the wild
by Alicia Jo Rabins
A note from LABA fellow Alicia Jo Rabins about her song:
I am interested in internal wildness, emotional wildness, the secret corners of ourselves we try endlessly to tame – though they may be kept secret even from those closest to us. Thinking of these internal thickets, I wrote this song about Cain from the perspective of his mother, Eve, as part of theGirls in Trouble song cycle.
What did responsibility and morality mean in the earliest generations of humanity (even if we take that chronology as myth or metaphor) – how would Cain learn right from wrong, and for that matter, how would Eve learn to mother? Would Eve hold her son responsible for his actions, or herself? The situation is tragic, and somehow seems very realistic to me – the first human family, learning as they go, hurting each other tremendously in the process, but still family.
Much of the imagery (flaxseed, the raven, the mysterious field conversation) is drawn from the original story and various midrashim. Oh, and speaking of imperfection and of motherhood: I recorded this demo onto my computer late at night, just back from tour, seven-and-a-half months pregnant with my first child, and also with a bit of a cold which you can hear in my voice.