Eric Clapton, the Blessed Mother and Hope

Eric Clapton, the Blessed Mother and Hope

The song sounds like a prayer from someone who acknowledges his need for help and direction from God and makes a plea to take away his pain and bring him peace.

In his memoir, Clapton: The Autobiography, Clapton wrote, “I found a pattern in my behavior that had been repeating itself for years, decades even. Bad choices were my specialty, and if something honest and decent came along, I would shun it or run the other way.”  But, then he came to a rock-bottom moment that he had in rehab.

“It was like a moment of clarity when I saw the absolute squalidness of my life at that moment. I began to write a song called Holy Mother, in which I asked for help from a divine source, a female that I couldn’t even begin to identify. I still love that song, because I recognize that it came from deep in my heart as a sincere cry for help.”

He wrote, “I was in complete despair. In the privacy of my room, I begged for help. I had no notion who I thought I was talking to, I just knew that I had come to the end of my tether . . . and, getting down on my knees, I surrendered. Within a few days I realized that . . . I had found a place to turn to, a place I’d always known was there but never really wanted, or needed, to believe in. From that day until this, I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for my life and, most of all, for my sobriety.”

In his song Clapton pleads, “Holy Mother, hear my prayer. Somehow I know you’re still there. Send me please some peace of mind. Holy Mother, hear my cry. I felt the anger running through my soul. All I need is a hand to hold.”

Here are the lyrics to the song:

Holy Mother, where are you?
Tonight I feel broken in two.
I’ve seen the stars fall from the sky.
Holy Mother, can’t keep from crying.

Oh I need your help this time,
Get me through this lonely night.
Tell me please which way to turn
To find myself again.

Holy Mother, hear my prayer,
Somehow I know you’re still there.
Send me please some peace of mind;
Take away this pain.

I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait any longer.
I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait for you.

Holy Mother, hear my cry,
I’ve cursed your name a thousand times.
I’ve felt the anger running through my soul;
All I need is a hand to hold.

Oh I feel the end has come,
No longer my legs will run.
You know I would rather be
In your arms tonight.

When my hands no longer play,
My voice is still, I fade away.
Holy Mother, then I’ll be
Lying in, safe within your arms.

May we always turn to our Holy Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Mother of Hope, in faith and confidence that she will intercede for us, hear our plea to take away our pain and bring us peace, as she did for Eric Clapton.

Here is a beautiful presentation of the song by Eric Clapton and Luciani Pavarotti with a children’s choir.