Does Your Mother Know Lyrics
Does Your Mother Know
TANYA:You're so hot
Teasing me
So you're blue but I can't
Take a chance on a kid like you
It's something I couldn't do
There's that look
In your eyes
I can read in your face
That your feelings are driving you wild
But boy you're only a child
Well, I could dance with you honey
If you think it's funny
But does your mother know that you're out?
And I could chat with you baby
Flirt a little maybe
But does your mother know that you're out?
PEPPER:
Take it easy:
TANYA:
Take it easy
Better slow down boy
That's no way to go
Does your mother know?
PEPPER:
Take it easy
TANYA:
Take it easy
Try to cool it boy
Take it nice and slow
Does your mother know?
I can see
What you want
But you seem pretty young
To be searching for that kind of fun
So maybe I'm not the one
Now, you're so cute
I like your style
And I know what you mean
When you give me a flash of that smile
But boy you're only a child
EVERYONE:
Well, I could dance with you honey
If you think it's funny
Does your mother know that you're out?
And I could chat with you baby
Flirt a little maybe
Does your mother know that you're out?
PEPPER:
Take it easy
Better slow down girl
That's no way to go
EVERYONE:
Does your mother know?
PEPPER:
Take it easy
Try to cool it girl
Play it nice and slow
EVERYONE:
Does your mother know?
Well, I could dance with you honey
If you think it's funny
But does your mother know that you're out?
And I could chat with you baby
Flirt a little maybe
But does your mother know that you're out?
Well, I could dance with you honey
If you think it's funny
But does your mother know that you're out?
And I could chat with you baby
Flirt a little maybe
But does your mother know that you're out?
Song Overview
Personal Review
“Does Your Mother Know” was always ABBA’s cheekiest single—one of the few led by Björn’s baritone—yet on stage it morphs into a gender-flipped cat-and-mouse. Louise Plowright’s Tanya bats Pepper’s advances away with a half-smile, half-karate block, all while a disco-rock groove purrs beneath. The pit band nudges the BPM to 128, sprinkles bouzouki riffs over that piano-boogie backbone, and suddenly the island taverna feels like a late-night Mykonos beach bar watching the sunrise ask for ID.
Song Meaning and Annotations
The lyric is an object lesson in playful boundaries. ABBA’s original narrator warned a younger woman; here, Tanya flips the script on a swaggering twenty-something waiter. Each “take it easy” drops to the subdominant, musical shorthand for applying the brakes. Yet the chorus lifts back to the tonic with brassy confidence—flirtation isn’t cancelled, just chaperoned.
Plowright sings “boy you’re only a child” on a bluesy slide, and the ensemble answers with glitter-cannon claps. Neal Wright’s Pepper retorts “better slow down girl”; the gender volley turns the dance floor into a tennis court of winks.
Verse Highlights
Opening Tease
Tanya’s first line jumps a sixth—mock surprise echoing down the bar.
Middle Quip
“I can see what you want” rides a playful syncopation, strings chuckling along in pizzicato.
Final Chorus
Company voices layer in four parts, the hi-hat hissing like a shaken soda just before the cork pops.
Song Credits
- Featured: Louise Plowright (Tanya), Neal Wright (Pepper)
- Producers: Nicholas Gilpin, Martin Koch
- Composers/Lyricists: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
- Release Date: October 17 1999 (cast) / April 27 1979 (single)
- Genre: Disco-rock / Musical theatre
- Length: 3 min 12 sec (cast)
- Instruments: piano-boogie riff, bouzouki, electric bass, handclaps, brass stabs
- Mood: flirtatious, supervisory
- Label: Polydor / Decca
- Poetic Meter: trochaic punch under four-on-the-floor
- Copyrights: © 1999 Littlestar Ltd.; ? 1999 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Songs Exploring Themes of Instant Flirtation
“Stacy’s Mom” – Fountains of Wayne
Power-pop guitar replaces ABBA’s disco piano, but the age-gap wink remains.
“Hot for Teacher” – Van Halen
Eddie’s tapping frenzy matches Pepper’s footwork; both narrators push boundaries while the grown-ups keep score.
“Bad Idea” – Waitress
Dawn and Ogie’s duet turns temptation into polka-pop chaos, echoing Tanya and Pepper’s comic tango.
Questions and Answers
- How did ABBA’s single chart?
- It peaked at No 4 in the UK, No 19 on the US Hot 100, and topped the charts in Ireland.
- Why is the lead vocal male in the original?
- Björn sang lead to fit the older-man narrative; it remains one of only two ABBA hits fronted by him.
- Any famous covers?
- Young@Heart Chorus turned it into a swing shuffle in 2012; Foo Fighters quoted the riff live in 2018.
- Is the cast key lower?
- Yes—down a whole tone to suit Plowright’s alto and give Pepper space to belt on top.
- Was the song in the 2008 film?
- Absolutely—Christine Baranski’s beach-bar rendition, complete with platform heels in sand, became an audience-sing-along staple.
Awards and Chart Positions
• UK Singles Chart: No 4 (May 1979)
• Irish Singles Chart: No 1 (June 1979)
• Certified Silver by BPI for 250 000 units
• Spotify streams: 460 million as of July 2025
How to Sing?
Range: Tanya A3–E5; Pepper B2–D4.
Breath: Keep each “take it easy” on one smooth exhale—think sipping through a straw while smirking.
Tempo: 128 BPM; let the piano riff dictate pocket.
Tone: Smile on vowels to keep flirtation buoyant; snap consonants (“kid,” “chance”) to underline the line you won’t cross.