The History of Motherf*cker and its Impact on Pop Culture
Despite the all-purpose expletive being diluted of its magic, motherfucker still helped propel jazz, blues, rock, punk and rap into the cultural zeitgeist.
moth-er-fuck-er
ˈməT͟Hərˌfəkər/
noun
NORTH AMERICAN vulgar slang
noun: motherfucker; plural noun: motherfuckers; noun: mother-fucker; plural noun: mother-fuckers
1. a despicable or very unpleasant person or thing.
2. a person or thing of a specified kind, especially one that is formidable or impressive in some way. (“that cover photo proves he is one talented motherfucker”)
From a cultural standpoint, if ever there was a ground zero for acceptance of a once-vile term, it was when Motherfucker Evangelist Samuel L. Jackson uttered those eleven immortal words, ‘I’ve had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane.’ From that moment, profanity sold out.
Prior to that, motherfucker, while still circulating the lexicon, was considered nothing more than putrid slang—a crude derision delivered from the gutter, contrived by the street urchin. And although modern culture has played its part in germinating the motherfucker seed, this pliable word has spent over a century manifesting into the delightful turn of phrase we use today.
In 2006, the year of Snakes on a Plane’s release, the most viewed definition in the Oxford online dictionary was motherfucker. If ever a pinpoint of cultural change existed, it is this.
Motherfucker.
Just mouthing the syllables relieves the tightening cranial vice. Even Samuel L. claims the term as a career saver. In a speech given at the American Institute for Stuttering gala in 2013, he revealed that using the swear word wards off a stutter he has been battling since childhood. If he has any hope of successfully reading his lines, he needs to say it. In human terms, that need stems from an etymology that has passed through 150 years of musicians, poets, ghetto-dwellers, even the aristocracy. So where did motherfucker begin, and how did it seep into popular culture?
“GOD DAMNED MOTHERFUCKING SON OF A BITCH”
Consensus amongst motherfucker scholars is that the above quote was the first hard recording of motherfucker in its purest form. In 1889, a Texas court entered into transcript that a young African-American defendant, amid a torrent of abuse from the public gallery, was called a ’God damned motherfucking bastardly son of a bitch.’ The severity in which the slur was treated grew apparent when it became the solitary word censored from the entire court transcript.
Whilst evidence of the term’s existence in early twentieth-century society is sparse, another recorded instance in 1917 displayed that motherfucker was the common thread when it came to spewing vitriol. In this case, it was an African-American soldier who wrote a letter to his draft board calling them ‘Low-down Mother Fuckers’.
In a 1933 shootout with Kansas City police, Bonnie Parker was famously heard to say, “You motherfuckers ain’t taking me alive! I’ll ride to the death!”
Pre-World War II, motherfucker was the ultimate slur. However, during the war, the word developed a new definition as American GI’s based in Europe began trading food and money for sex with peasant women. These soldiers were labelled ‘Mother Fuckers’ and were afforded a degree of legendary status amongst their peers.
Colloquially, motherfucker is considered an omnipresent force delivered unto the masses from the apocalyptic wasteland of gangsta rap. In reality, history suggests otherwise. In the late 1940s, the slang took on yet another meaning, becoming popular in jazz circles, with band leaders utilising its impact on musicians beneath them. In 1949, after a rowdy night of debauchery, a groggy Miles Davis snatched the arm of a young percussionist and taunted, “You’re a motherfucker.” When the percussionist smiled and thanked Miles for the compliment, Davis was heard to say, “Now, you can be in my band!”
During this era, many musicians began using motherfucker to compliment those around them. The expression, ’Man, you a bad ass motherfucker’, became one of endearment when heaping praise on a musician with serious chops. But it wasn’t until 1958 when the first recorded instance of this revised definition surfaced, appearing in the Oxford English Dictionary to much disdain and controversy. The tome boldly cited the story of Stagger Lee—an infamous tale based on the true story of a black man who refused to bow to his oppressors.
The cultural significance of the ‘Ballad of Stagger Lee’ must not be underplayed. The gothic-Americana icon, despite remaining uncredited to this day, was first mentioned in 1897 in the Kansas City Leavenworth Herald as a song performed by Professor Charlie Lee, the Piano Thumper. Since then, the song has taken on epic proportions in performances from Frank Hutchison’s 1927 version, through to the comically dark Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds rendition from 1996, where motherfucker is taken to extraordinary levels. Other than its protagonist, the one common thread over the past century to link all interpretations of Stagger Lee folklore is the use of the word motherfucker.
In the fledgeling days of recorded music, the necessity to remain uncensored was paramount, thus, common motherfucker variants required utilisation. An example of this is when blues goddess Memphis Minnie coined a term that became the go-to for musicians in the censorship battle. ’Mother For You’ was the phrase, and it soon became a blues staple. Another was ’Mother Fuyer’, implemented by musicians including Dirty Red and B.B. King. Use of these vernaculars allowed recording artists to bypass the censor board while still being afforded the opportunity to extend their respective viewpoints. Only those who knew, knew.
By the mid-1960s, motherfucker had lost its pejorative status and, thanks in part to author Norman Mailer, had become an intensifier. In his novel, 1967’s Why Are We in Vietnam?, subtle variants on the term were used with mother-fugger and motherfuck making several appearances.
In mainstream circles, motherfucker made its mark when comedian Lenny Bruce was arrested for using the slur during one of his performances. A decade later, fellow comic George Carlin was detained on obscenity violations for execution of his Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television bit, at a show in Milwaukee.
“It’s common parlance and does not mean that the individual is being accused of having intercourse with his mother.”
Kick-started by the growing popularity of the beat movement, 1960s counterculture played a primary role in introducing motherfucker to white middle America. Beat fiction acted as conduit between the grimy streets and suburbia, and by the end of the decade, thanks to an injection of Vietnam War, motherfucker had seeped into rock ‘n’ roll.
Spiking the anti-war punchbowl was New York City activist David Peel. Peel, who would often perform improvisational skits in Greenwich Village, incited defiance while preaching a pro-marijuana mantra. His satire piqued the interest of visionary Danny Fields who, upon witnessing Peel, convinced Elektra Records to sign the free-thinker along with his band The Lower East Side.
Throughout this period, an East Village collective calling themselves Up Against the Wall, Motherfucker, mobilised with a rally at New York’s Grand Central Station. Front and centre was David Peel who led a singalong of ‘Up Against the Wall, Motherfucker,’ a phrase borrowed from the NYPD who would exploit the taunt when arresting persons of colour.
In 1968, David Peel and the Lower East Side’s debut album was recorded live at Washington Square Park, thus cementing Peel in the annals of pop culture folklore. Archives indicate that this was the first unabashed use of motherfucker on a recording released by a mainstream label. The track, ‘Up Against the Wall, Motherfucker,’ came in at 1:10, not so truncated as to allow the expletive to be chanted seven times. Initially forcing a conniption upon conservative America, David Peel and Danny Fields are now seen as cultural revolutionaries.
In the same year, Fields and Elektra cast the visionary web once more, signing the incendiary MC5 from Detroit. The band’s 1969 live debut ‘Kick Out the Jams‘ was immediately censored due to singer Rob Tyner’s introduction to the proto-punk staple.
With the political climate at boiling point, the Up Against The Wall, Motherfucker movement slid into West Coast counterculture. As a consequence, a succession of political recordings were released, including Jefferson Airplane’s Volunteers, a concept album threaded by an activism manifesto. The song ‘We Can Be Together’, with lyrics borrowed from an Up Against the Wall, Motherfucker leaflet, caused one stink of a controversy. Jefferson Airplane also became the inaugural proponents of the word fuck on live television with their 1970 appearance on The Dick Cavett Show.
We are all outlaws in the eyes of America
In order to survive we steal, cheat, lie, forge, fuck, hide, and deal
Everything you say we are, we are
Up against the wall, motherfucker!
Adopting Up against the wall, motherfucker as an accentuation on their rally cries, the Black Panthers influenced artists The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron to motherfuck during their live performances. Doing so helped transform an unappealing expletive into an accessible, aggressive mantra.
In 2021, not an eyelid is batted at a motherfucker refrain. Diluted to the point of excruciation, credit predominantly goes to the gangsta rap movement, which derives inspiration from those who promulgated the term. In reality, the word now borders on cartoonish.
Therapeutically speaking, motherfucker is as valid as ever. A linguistic burst of endorphin, filling a thought wave for the grammatically challenged. As our Motherfucker Evangelist once put it, “Our savior, thy name is Motherfucker.”
© Chuck Hagen
