Released in 1971 – The song was written by Kenny Ascher and Paul Williams – two men. I never would have guessed it. Fast forward 17-18 years or so, after my parents split for the second time and my brothers were doing their own thing, it was just me and my mom mourning the loss of our family alone, together.
Fast forward to 1993 – my mom passed and I was a single mother with a 13 month old daughter. I often sang this song to my daughter at night when I put her to sleep.
What the song is about: A single mother’s anthem. A mother sings to her daughter about their journey through life together.
My favorite lines:
“You and me against the world,
Sometimes it feels like you and me against the world,
When all the others turn their backs and walk away,
You can count on me to stay.”
What the words mean to me: This is the verse that first pushed me to sing this at night to my daughter. My mom stayed. She was a rock, a dependable, persistent rock. I wanted my daughter to feel safe and secure and to know that I would be present – always – and that she could depend on me and never disappoint me.
This verse also has the hint of how I depended on her. I put all of my energy into this little girl and our life together. After my mom died, my daughter kept me going out of sheer necessity – food, shelter, etc. Then, my daughter kept me going because I wanted to give her a better life and I was the only one in the world that could do it. We were alone, together.
“And when one of us is gone,
And one of us is left to carry on,
Then remembering will have to do,
Our memories alone will get us through
Think about the days of me and you,
You and me against the world.“
What the words mean to me: I often cried through these lyrics. Still do. I wrote this in an earlier post about my mother and another Helen Reddy song – “My mother remains my hero and a visage of strength, powering through life’s challenges with courage, integrity, and conviction.” (Read that post here.) I never thought anything could ever really keep her down or take her away from me. I think I sang this to my daughter, in part, to try to prepare us both for the day we will be apart. When my mom took ill and died 10 weeks later, I had never considered for one moment that she could be taken away from me. So naive at 22.
I think of my mother every day. Memories are all I have of her…and ‘remembering will have to do’. She is in my heart and the heart of my children – even the ones she never got to meet. They have been touched by her because I have been.
The tears through these lyrics also let me express my sorrow to my daughter. They allowed me show my daughter that it is okay to be sad and express your feelings…and that life does, indeed, go on. I would speak of my mother and recall fond memories of her, sharing the stories. I would tell Alexis that grandma is in heaven and I will see her again one day. Which leads me to the next verse.
“And for all the times we’ve cried I always felt that
God was on our side.“
What the words mean to me: I spoke of God and faith to my small, little girl. Although my anger towards Him exploded within me at times, and I questioned my faith when such an angel as my mother had to suffer so, and to meet such an ugly, early end – I know that the same faith got me through. The same faith that God has a plan is the same faith that helped me to raise a beautiful and talented young lady. I see my mother in her, now – strong, smart, confident, kind, independent, forthright, and loving. This brings me peace.
Full Lyrics for “You and Me Against the World”:
You and me against the world,
Sometimes it feels like you and me against the world,
When all the others turn their backs and walk away,
You can count on me to stay.
Remember when the circus came to town
And you were frightened by the clown,
Wasn’t it nice to be around someone that you knew,
Someone who was big and strong and looking out for
You and me against the world,
Sometimes it feels like you and me against the world
And for all the times we’ve cried I always felt that
God was on our side.
And when one of us is gone,
And one of us is left to carry on,
Then remembering will have to do,
Our memories alone will get us through
Think about the days of me and you,
You and me against the world.
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