9 May 2023 - 10,000 Maniacs - My Mother the War

This song appears on both the band's 1983 debut album The Secrets of The I Ching and their 1985 major label debut, The Wishing Chair.  It is a song that longtime fans clamor to hear live (and in my times seeing them live, I did hear it a couple of times).

"My Mother The War" is the rare song with lyrics not solely written by Natalie Merchant from the early days of 10,000 Maniacs - it was co-written with Michael Walsh, with John Lombardo writing the music in the style that was so distinctive for the early days of the band.  

I don't know what else to say about this except, go Jamestown!

The band is still around, although Natalie left the band in the mid-90's (despite what you may have heard, it was amicable).  Here is not-usual-vocalist John Lombardo singing the song during a sound check in 2022. 

Here he is singing it in 2015 - you can see usual vocalist Mary Ramsey walk off stage as they play the song that defined the early band she wasn't part of (although she comes back).