Lyric Essay
“You are appreciated.” This is the main point that Tupac is projecting throughout his song to make sure that his listeners and his mother understand. This song, “Dear Mama”, was written to tell the mishaps and unfortunates he faced through his childhood up until his early adulthood. Also he tells the story about life growing up with a single mother as a parent and having siblings that he also shared the same pain with him. He begins the song by letting his mother know he is grateful for everything she has done for him.
In life everybody will eventually need someone to lean on whether it’s just for comfort or for help. “Through the drama I can always depend on my mama.” (Tupac Dear Mama Verse 3). Most people lean on family members or close friends but very seldom do will they ask for help from anyone outside of that. In this song Tupac depends on his mother to help raise him because he is young and growing. He goes by saying that no matter if it was right or wrong his mother would always have his back. He explains how his family didn’t have anything but his mama always made something happen so that him and his sister could eat. Even though his mother did drugs she always provided for her family, “and even as a crack fiend mama, you always was a black queen mama” (Tupac Dear Mama Verse 1)
In the song Dear Mama Tupac explains how he caused his mother so much stress and pain. “There’s no way I can pay you back, but my plan is to make you understand. You are appreciated.” (Tupac Dear Mama Chorus) He was always acting out by not going to school and getting in and out of trouble, which also included running from the police, things of that sort. Tupac didn’t realize at the time that he was hurting her more than helping her. Tupac is basically saying that there is nothing he can do to take away the pain and stress he had caused his mama but he wanted to let her know that he did appreciate everything she did.
From being in trouble all of the time at school and being in trouble with the police, you could say Tupac made a lot of mistakes, but his mother never lost hope for him. “Cause when I was low you was there for me and never left me alone because you cared for me.” (Tupac Dear Mama Verse 2) Majority of the time Tupac stayed in trouble due to the fact he had no father and a very difficult childhood but, with the understanding of his circumstances his mother was always there to correct him when he was wrong. Tupac explains how he encountered a bad experience while he was in jail. “It was hell hugging on my mama from a jail cell.” Tupac is now realizing that he can’t change everything that he has done, but he would like to thank her by making sure she realizes how much he appreciates everything she did for him and also that he understands mother’s make mistakes too. It takes a loving and understanding son to be able to take in all of this mother’s mistakes and to transform the information into something positive. He didn’t stop and judge her for her wrong doings instead he embraced them and chose to be thankful for everything she did right. The same thing with his mother, she knows very well that her son Tupac made mistakes but she didn’t down him or disown him, instead she stood by his side like a real mother would do. It just goes to show that you don’t have to have the perfect life but family is what makes it worth living.

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