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Nathaniel Rateliff pays homage to his mom

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night SweatsBrantley Gutierrez

by Bob Boilen

May 10, 2018

Here's a sweet homage to all moms by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats. The song is called "Hey Mama" and the video, directed by Rett Rogers, takes old family footage of Nathaniel Rateliff and bassist Joseph Pope and intercuts it with recent videos documenting their mom's daily routines at work and home. The video also documents the band's extended Denver family.

Joseph Pope says that he was at first hesitant to ask his mom to share something so intimate, but "in the end, it made me feel much closer to my mother. You grow up within a family's daily routines and are shaped by them. Nathaniel and I moved away, and we developed our separate lives. To see a day in the life of my mom, through her very eyes, is such an immense gift to me. The themes of thankfulness, loss, struggle and time that are deep within all of our relationships are on display here."

The song "Hey Mama" is from the band's 2018 album Tearing at the Seams. You can hear Nathaniel Rateliff and bandmate Mike Shusterman pick songs they love as the play guest DJ on a recent All Songs Considered.

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Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats - official site