"Mother Earth" is the third single by Dutch

symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...

band

Within Temptation Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have been classified by critics as gothic metal and symphonic metal, although each album contains other inf ...

from their second studio album, ''

Mother Earth Mother Earth may refer to: *The Earth goddess in any of the world's mythologies *Mother goddess *Mother Nature, a common personification of the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life Written media and literature *Mother Earth ...

''. Along with the singles " Ice Queen" and "

Stand My Ground "Stand My Ground" is the first single from Dutch band Within Temptation's album ''The Silent Force''. The song is also included on the US edition of the band's 2007 album ''The Heart of Everything''. It became a top 10 hit in three countries (the ...

", "Mother Earth" has become one of the band's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

s and is present on the setlist at almost every concert. It was also used as the theme for the German translation of the anime X.

Track listing

;CD single (2002 Dutch release) #"Mother Earth" (single version) (4:02) #"Bittersweet" (non-album track) (3:21) ;CD single (2002 Dutch release) #"Mother Earth" (single version) (4:02) #"Bittersweet" (non-album track) (3:21) #"Ice Queen" (radio edit) (3:48) #"Mother Earth" (Live at 013, Tilburg 2002) (6:12) #"Our Farewell" (Live at 013, Tilburg 2002) (5:26) #"Mother Earth" (Live 2002 at Lowlands, Biddinghuizen) (5:31) ;CD maxi-single (2002 Dutch release) #"Mother Earth" (single version) (3:59) #"Bittersweet" (non-album track) (3:21) #"Ice Queen" (acoustic version 2002 - Isabelle 3FM) (3:50) #"Mother Earth" (live at 013, Tilburg 2002 - Week Van De Ned. Popmuziek 3FM) (6:12) #"Our Farewell" (live at 013, Tilburg 2002 - Week Van De Ned. Popmuziek 3FM) (5:26) #"Mother Earth" (video) (live Paris, 2002) (5:38) ;CD single (2003 German release) #"Mother Earth" (single version) (4:02) #"Mother Earth" (Live 2002 at Lowlands, Biddinghuizen) (5:31) ;CD single (2003 German release) #"Mother Earth" (single version) (4:02) #"Dark Wings" (album version) (4:16) #"Our Farewell" (radio edit) (3:56) ;CD maxi-single (2003 German release) and U.S.

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

EP #"Mother Earth" (single version) (4:02) #"Jane Doe" (non-album track) (4:30) #"Ice Queen" (live acoustic version) (3:47) #"Never-ending Story" (live acoustic version) (4:16) #"Mother Earth" (Live 2002 at Lowlands, Biddinghuizen) (5:31)

Video

Although it's their third music video, the video for "Mother Earth" is the first professional one. It was directed by

Patric Ullaeus Patric Ullaeus is a Swedish director and photographer. He is the founder of Revolver Film Company, based in Gothenburg. With his music video "The Serpentine Offering" for Dimmu Borgir he won the "Norwegian Grammy" award Spellemannsprisen in the ...

. Filming location was by lake Delsjön near

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The video has a strong nature/pagan theme, with several aerial shots of lakes and forests as well as different animals. Sharon den Adel is first shown as a woman (presumably "Mother Earth") transforming into an owl that flies around rivers and mountains. She is then depicted as walking around in the forest as a sort of magical spirit, interacting with nature, and performing in a forest glade with the rest of the band.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2000 songs 2002 singles Within Temptation songs Songs written by Sharon den Adel Songs written by Robert Westerholt