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Yoga Mama

by Miserable Man

/

about

The song was inspired by Miserable Man’s long-term travels in the South-East Asian continent, from India to Bali, where he made his life both residing and performing music.
In his time in the once quiet fishermen's villages, he noticed the insurgence of a very peculiar character: the “Yoga Mama”.

Usually between her mid 20s and mid 40s, often with a Californian accent, vegan, gluten free, lactose intolerant but surely into those fancy Mojitos they sell so cheap at the beach bar, they provided him with a great source of inspiration straight away.

The song is a classic Ska tune; with upbeat guitars, a groovy bassline and a catchy chorus, (a homage to ‘Pretty Woman’ and the original "Yoga Mama", Julia Roberts from the film 'Eat, Pray, Love' or as Miserable Man would say, “Eat, Pay, Leave”)!

Interwoven are rhythmic Indian tablas and the appearance of The Guru, a character always spewing the right spiritual phrases; donning a slightly pervy eye and a badly hidden passion for the green dollar his disciples are happy to pay!

Essentially, the song and its official music video are a satirical take on the Yoga business, a now ruthless multi-billion industry where truths and lies are often cleverly intertwined to misguide where human empathy and thirst for inner secrets can easily easily fall into the realm of cultural appropriation and where everybody wants to become a teacher but no one has the patience to study for decades before milking the cash (holy) cow.

Sanctity and vanity were never so close to each other: life coaching, aura reading, energy channelling, palo santo burning, mantra singing, yoni massage and chakra aligning were never so sexy, so viral, so scroll-worthy, popular and finally predictable and grotesque.
After years of living in India, Miserable Man felt the need to write a fun song focusing on the comedic aspects of this recent phenomenon.

From what was once a humble set of stretching and breathing exercises, rooted in Indian culture, performed by the everyman in an attempt to calm the ego for a simpler life; the single “Yoga Mama” highlights this modern ‘Vedic Frankenstein’ (think Hula Hoop Yoga, Beer Yoga...) that seems to appeal to a whole generation of fit, vacuous, spiritual practitioners hell-bent on ego-inflation at the cost of any culture, resulting in nothing deeper than a ‘glamourous’, ego-ridden existence perfectly tailored for social media.

lyrics

BABY, YOU WALK ON THE STREET
TRYING SO HARD AT IGNORING ME AND I WONDER WHY
IS IT BECAUSE I DON'T SMELL OF PATCHOULI

YOU TRY TO LIVE ORGANICALLY
EVOLVING YOUR SOUL SPIRITUALLY BUT YOU'RE BLENDING
LISTEN TO ME
WAY TOO MUCH SHIT IN YOUR SMOOTHIE

YOGA MAMA, WALKING DOWN THE STREETS
TOO MUCH DRAMA, WHY DON'T YOU TALK TO ME?
YOGA MAMA I HOPE YOUR MAT IS NOT AS HARD
AS YOU ARE WITH ME

3000 DOLLARS MIGHT BE THE RIGHT PRICE
FOR TWO WEEKS OF YOGA INCLUDING BROWN RICE
AND I WONDER WHAT YOUR ACCOUNTANT WOULD SAY

IS IT THE LACK OF A PROPER JOB
OR YOUR ASS FALLING DOWN
THAT MAKES YOU A SNOB AND A MASTER
OF A DISCIPLINE YOU HAVE'NT BEEN DOING FOR SO LONG

I TRY TO SAY HI BUT YOU DON'T LOOK AT ME
CAUSE I DON'T TOUCH THE POINT OF MY FEET
AND I WONDER WHAT YOUR BABA WOULD SAY

IF YOU NEED A HUG I'LL PRETEND YOU'RE A TREE
ILL READ YOUR AURA WITHOUT A RETREAT
AND ILL BRING BACK YOUR PAINFUL MEMORIES

YOGA MAMA, WALKING DOWN THE STREETS
TOO MUCH DRAMA, WHY DON'T YOU TALK TO ME
YOGA MAMA I HOPE YOUR MAT IS NOT AS HARD
AS YOU ARE WITH ME

BABY
WELCOME TO MAMA INDIA
ARE YOU FROM USA?
I KNOW YOU'RE HERE TO STAY

YOU'RE TIRED OF WEARING PRADA
ITS TIME TO BREATH SOME PRANA
GUESS WHAT, YOU WILL PAY FOR IT

SO, YOU'RE FROM COLORADO
ILL GIVE YOU PLENTY OF AVOCADO
MY DARLING, AND YOU WILL PAY FOR IT

WHILE SEEKING INNER BEAUTY
I'M LOOKING YOGA BOOTY
BEAUTIFUL, YOU KNOW
YES YOU WILL PAY FOR IT

POSTING SELFIES ON MY INSTAGRAM FEED
YOGA MAMA YOU'RE TOO GOOD TO ME
GOD LOVES YOU AND GURU LOVES YOUR
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!!!!

YOGA MAMA, WALKING DOWN THE STREETS
TOO MUCH DRAMA, WHY DON'T YOU TALK TO ME
YOGA MAMA I HOPE YOUR MAT IS NOT AS HARD
AS YOU ARE WITH ME

credits

released June 21, 2023
Music and Lyrics by Miserable Man
Produced by Miserable Man for Happy Tree Records.
Recorded by Alessandro Grego at Cialtrons Studio, Galliera IT.
Mixed by Miserable Man and Alessandro Grego.
Mastered by Mickey Shawn at Dub Cavern Studios, Norwich, UK
Vocals and Guitars by Miserable Man.
Drums played by Alessandro Grego.
Bass played by Daniele "China" Parolin
Keyboards played by Franco "Frusta" Gazzola
Telecaster kindly provided by Joe Di Lorenzo.
Photography by Elena Georgie
Artwork by Miserable Man
Videography by Elena Georgie at Tree Bench FIlms and Jumping Souls
BTS photography and Copy Writing by Nidhi Gopalan"

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about

Miserable Man London, UK

Miserable Man is a one man band project that started as an idea on a tiny Indonesian island. One man feeling Jamaican inside - getting older with a smile on his face, waking up in front of the azure sea, and sleeping under coconut trees...
He likes to blend pop, as a universal communicative way of making music, with Ska, Reggae and Roots.
... more

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