"Ma and Pa" is a song by American

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

and

funk metal Funk metal (also known as thrash-funk or punk-funk) is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music (often thrash metal) with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, ...

band

Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1979, that plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late ' ...

. It was the second single released from the album ''

Truth and Soul ''Truth and Soul'' is the second studio album by American rock band Fishbone. It was released on September 13, 1988. As is typical of the band's history of music the album features a wide array of genres including punk, ska, reggae, soul, funk, a ...

''. The song only managed to chart in the UK, but remains a fan favorite and a staple of the band's live shows to the present day.

Lyrical Content

The song's upbeat

-based melody stands in direct contrast to its stark lyrical content which relates the story of a married couple's divorce difficulties as they fight for custody over their daughter. The song's lyrics are narrated by singer

Angelo Moore Angelo Carmen Christopher Moore (born November 5, 1965) is an American musician, best known for his work as lead singer and saxophonist for the Los Angeles ska and funk metal band Fishbone. Moore also performs and records under the stage name Dr ...

from the point of view of an older brother in the troubled family who witnesses his sister's difficult position in the parents' fierce legal battle. The lyrics lament the girl's feelings at being caught in the middle of the divorce and berates the insensitive parents for not noticing her feelings. The chorus repeats the line "Hey Ma and Pa/What the hell is wrong with ya'll." In a

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

which occasionally follows the main chorus, Angelo Moore sings the line "Why don't ya'll get your shit/together" by coughing instead of saying the word "shit", effectively self-censoring the song's strongest

profanity Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was directed by Mike Lipscombe with lighting designed by Neil Jerram of Failsafe Systems. The video features live footage of Fishbone performing in a small concert venue on South Parade Pier in Southsea, with the studio-produced song synced over the footage. The video features frantic editing and camera movement and includes first-person footage of the camera attached to Walter A. Kibby II's trumpet, Chris Dowd's swinging keyboard mount, and Norwood Fisher's bass. There are also shots of Angelo Moore

crowd surfing Crowd surfing is the process in which a person is passed overhead from person to person (often during a concert), transferring the person from one part of the venue to another. The "crowd surfer" is passed above everyone's heads, with everyone's ...

and an exuberant fan wrestling with stage hands who are trying to remove him from the stage

proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...

Reception

Mentions of the song in contemporary reviews of

were generally positive, pointing out the song's sincere lyrics and upbeat musical vibe and frantic dance groove. Tom Moon of the Miami Herald complimented the song's writing and lyrical arrangement saying how "the five-piece band states a theme and develops it

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

each verse adding to the snowballing exposition." He also called the song's dance-groove "slippery." David Silverman of the ''Chicago Tribune'' said of the song that "Kibby and Dowd provided a steady line of the lush hornwork." Jon Bream of the Star Tribune called it a "first-rate song about divorce from a kid's point of view." Malu Halasa, reviewer of British music newspaper ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'', found some "nice horn licks" here but generally she considered that the Fishbone forgot to bring the "vitality on the vinyl" while copying "English 2-Tone of the early Eighties".

Track listing

A Side # "Ma and Pa" – 3:22 B Side # "Bonin' in the Boneyard" – 4:45

Charts

References

{{authority control Fishbone songs 1989 singles 1988 songs Columbia Records singles Music videos directed by Mike Lipscombe Ska punk songs Song recordings produced by David Kahne Songs written by Angelo Moore