NP Re: propaganda [was Re: Vineland]

[the Robot Vegetable]

	Is there any relation between this little helper and the
one the Rolling Stones sing about?  I had thought that the "little
yellow pills" were nembutal (sp?) but I live in the US pharmacopia.
(song lyrics below)

On Mon, 5 May 1997 MASCARO at humnet.ucla.edu wrote:

> Yes, good point re O'Neill, davemarc.  
> Still, that *Little* and *Helper*--those seem a bit 
> sinister, though as you say, not in today's league.
> john m
> ******************
> davemarc writes:
> >
> >19th century medications are a story in themselves.  I don't think they're
> >simply a matter of marketing.  I know I've been harping on O'Neill
> >recently, so I'll stay on the subject a little longer to point out that
> >Eugene's mom became addicted to morphine after being treated with it
> >following a painful birth experience in the late part of the century.  The
> >doctor wasn't great, but I don't think he was a complete incompetent
> >either; such usages were as common as they were regrettable.  Considering
> >that the "safe" anesthesia pioneered c.1864 wasn't all that safe (and still
> >isn't, in some ways), and that addictive substances like alcohol and
> >codeine are still in cough medicines, the origins of "Mother's Little
> >Helper" might have been less sinister, and more primitive and desperate,
> >than suggested.  Now if we're gonna talk about modern-day cigarettes and
> >heroin and cocaine....
> 

       Mother's Little Helper
       (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards)

What a drag it is getting old

Things are different today, I hear every mother say
They just need something today to calm her down
And though she's not really ill, there's a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And it gets her on her way, gets her through her busy day

Oh doctor, please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old

Men just aren't the same today, I hear every mother say
They just don't appreciate what you get tie
They're so hard to satisfy, you can tranquilize your mind
And go running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And for gets her through the night, help to minimize your flight

[refrain]

Just aren't the same today, I hear every mother say
The pursuit of happiness is such a bore
If you take more of those, you will get an overdose
You'll go running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
It for gets her on her way, through...