Take Your Mama

"Take Your Mama" is a song by American band Scissor Sisters and is the second track on their self-titled debut album. It was released March 29, 2004 as a single in the UK, peaking at #17 in the UK Singles Chart (see 2004 in British music). It also saw considerable success internationally, notably in New Zealand, where it reached #11 in the New Zealand Top 40 Singles Chart. The song was included in the soundtrack to FIFA Football 2005.

In Australia, the song was ranked #23 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004.

The song was written by Scott Hoffman and Jason Sellards. The song's lyrics depict the struggles of being a young gay male adult raised in a somewhat conservative environment, and the hardships of admitting one's sexuality to one's mother.

Track listing

Maternal insult

A maternal insult (also referred to as a "yo mama" joke) is a reference to a person's mother through the use of phrases such as "your mother" or other regional variants, frequently used to insult the target by way of their mother. Used as an insult, "your mother..." preys on widespread sentiments of filial piety, making the insult particularly and globally offensive. "Your mother" can be combined with most types of insults, although suggestions of promiscuity are particularly common. Insults based on obesity, incest, age, race, poverty, poor hygiene, unattractiveness, or stupidity may also be used. Compared to other types of insults, "your mother" insults are especially likely to incite violence. Slang variants such as "yo mama", "yo momma", "yer ma", "ya mum", "your mum" or "your mom" are sometimes used, depending on the local dialect. Insults involving "your mother" are commonly used when playing the dozens.

Although the phrase has a long history of including a description portion (such as the old "your mother wears combat boots", which implied that one's mother worked as a prostitute in the military), the phrase "yo mama" by itself, without any qualifiers, has become commonly used as an all-purpose insult or an expression of defiance.