Sinead's mother died just before she released this. That is why she was crying and mentioned her Mum. The song was written by Prince but Sinead made it her own. RIP Sinead. Your loss is felt everywhere but especially in Ireland.

Sinead's Mum passed away as the result of a car accident when Sinead was just 18. The tears were for her mum, even though her mum was alleged to have physically abused Sinead as a child. Sinead lived a controversial life and never shied away from her views. Her shaven head was one of her statements. If you dig hard enough on YT you can find a 2022 documentary on her life. An outstanding voice and an amazing sense of humor and justice.

I'm Irish and a big Sinéad O’Connor fan. Needless to say, her passing away last week brought utter shock sadness about, not just in me, but in all of Ireland. She has the voice of an angel, especially a capella, and sings about her life struggles as she had a very difficult upbringing because of the abuse by her mother. As an adult, she has been misunderstood, misrepresented, vilified and abandoned because what you see is what you get: honest, raw and pure emotion. But, she had limitless courage and was the first to speak out loudly -in her own way- about the power the Catholic Church had over women in Ireland, including her own sexual abuse, and the lack of female autonomy over their own bodies. She spoke up about the mental, psychological and physical abuse by her mother and the lack of adequate mental health services that lead to the suicide of her son. Protesting poverty and so many other forms of injustice was what drove her, and in a way she was too good for this world, sucking in all forms of discrimination until she could no longer. Even if you don’t like Sinéad O’Connor's behaviour, please grant her one last video because she had the voice of an angel, and I am not saying so because I am Irish as well, but boy, when she sings a capella, you know that her voice is something truly special. There are so many videos of her doing her thing but I found this one video here where she explains what drove her, followed by an a capella version of a traditional song called 'Irish Ways and Irish Laws'. Considering her fight for reform in Ireland, it is just haunting, describing Irish 800-year history and occupation by the Vikings, Cromwell, British Crown, etc. m.kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o6eWasl4qsu2gac.html&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1EKUxqyMbusbezlxvacBt0s12y1BCHcPBDUGq4qkYKll5WGmAKLrsT4mg

Hey there. This was filmed in Saint Cloud France. Beautiful park on the grounds of an old palace there. I lived there for over 2 decades. She did this Prince song justice. May they both rest in peace. Thank you for the reaction!

Sinead always remained true to herself - she refused to allow herself to be marketed - when producers wanted to "sex her up! - she turned up for the next session with the shaved head wearing combats....! RIP Sinead O'Connor - her Heart & Soul will live forever through her music...!

Rest in Peace Sinéad. I remember hearing it the first time on the radio in 1990 and I was captivated. It took me a while to find out who it sang because I had never heard of Sinéad before. Greetings from Germany

I saw her dropping real tears during singing, without blinking. She was so sad, even while young. RIP.

This might her best known song but she covered everything from Rock to Reggae .. She is as well known for her championing of causes that affected us here in Ireland ☘️💚

An angel who came to earth and had such a difficult time navigating this world. RIP Sinead.

She Spoke out against the Church and it's abuse of Children when the World was Silent and destroyed her Career befor they realized she was 💯 % correct, She sought out the answers to the Purpose of Life and Islam found Her, May God Grant her Paradis 🎉

She was such a rebel when music executives told her to grow out her hair she infamously shaved it because she didn't want to be looked at as pretty

Sinead made this song her own ❤. If the song reflected the passing of her mother, it was possibly that her mother didn't get the help she needed from Social services or MHTeams. Sinead was deeply scarred by her upbringing and wasn't protected from the evil things her mother did to her. No counselling back then 🤔.....RIP beautiful Sinead 💔

One of the best artists Ever!!!! Also listen to 'Troy' live version. Absolutely stunning and 'Nothing compares' documentary xxx🙏💚thankyou Sinead for your beautiful soulful music🎶

Shes was a Brave girl and was right all along God Bless Sinead O Connad😢😥💔🙏🙏🙏🙏

If you really want to hear her voice watch the live version. Love the video too, it was filmed in Paris. And when she says Mama, she was grieving her mother-in many ways-who was abusive. Very. Sinéad had a hard life. RIP

Prince wrote this song, including the "Mama" line, but Sinead's mom had died in a car crash a couple of years earlier, and it struck a sad note for Sinead. Her mom was terribly abusive toward her but sheissed her anyway. Sinead had eyes the seem to see into the soul of a person. May she finally be at peace with her son 🎉

Sinead captivated every music chart in the world with this Prince song

Irish singer/songwriter Sinéad O'Connor's (originally by Prince) power ballad version of the song became worldwide, she was sensational!! Sadly she has passed away in July this year, aged 56. RIP Sinéad 💔💔

An ernomous talent, who's absence will leave a void in the world.

ALL The flowers that you planted... MAMA... in The back yard 😢😢😢

Fun fact, Prince wrote and performed this song in 1985 for a side project but it didn't get much attention and in 1990, Sinead recorded her version of the song and it became a huge hit. And Prince never performed that song live until after she made it a hit as to not take it away from her. And the song went unreleased by prince until 2019, after he passed away. So in essence, that song was and always will be Sineads. Also, I was 16 when she released this song in 1990 and it was all over the place for years.

A song EVERYONE can relate to .... I couldnt even listen to it for yrs after my last dog passed Sinead.....you were unique...told it like it was and stood up to your convictions You left a footprint girl ❤🎉❤

This was filmed at Powerscourt House and Gardens, Enniskerry, County Wicklow Ireland. Thank you for giving our Sinead the repect she deserved 🙏

A true artist. She also suffered like an artist. Rest in peace, now.❤

Rest In Peace, beautiful Sinead. Fragile but strong. Wounded but a fighter. I was already a fan of her bold, unique expressions. Because she was a powerful voice and artist. And one that I will definitely miss.

It's sad that she will only be remembered for this song, it's good, but there is so much more to her, she was also a great singer of Irish traditional music

Prince wrote this song in 1984. Sinead O’Connor did this cover version in 1990. It went to no.1 in the UK charts and no.1 in 17 other countries. She tweaked the script slightly to make it a female version. The part she had tears in (All the flowers that you planted, Mama, in the backyard….) was when she was thinking about her mum in that moment, who died in a car crash in 1985. Three weeks before that accident, Sinead wanted to forgive her Mum for all the abuse she gave her. She had a very difficult life with her mum, and wanted to forgive her, but it was too late. All the other lyrics in this song (written by Prince) wasn’t about her life. She chose this song because she loved it herself.

She had amazing voice and she was pretty back in the day!

She's just a unique beautiful singer. She was my fav singer back then... And still.. ❤... Thanks sist brought her video back .. love it ❤🎉

Prince had originally written it, but Sinead had changed some of the words in the lyrics. Prince was unhappy about that. The song is about loss. Sinead intentionally spoke to the lyric “All the flowers you planted mama, in the back yard. Have all died since you went away” due to Sinead having lost her mother and having a regretful relationship with her mother. I believe the song remained in the top spot on charts for 38 weeks. Still maintaining the longest running number one song.

Sinead led such a painful and traumatic life but was still able to give the world the gifts of her wonderful voice and kindness to others. I’m open minded on the subject of religion and spirituality but I hope there’s a beautiful afterlife awaiting, she certainly earned her right to it ❤

🤍🤍🤍🎼 .. so , Prince wrote a stunningly haunting song ... and it was given to the perfect voice to express it. Sinead has a voice that is impossible to forget. R.I.P. Sinead .. much respect to Prince for creating this magic. 🖤🖤🖤🎼🖤🖤🖤

The Parc de Saint-Cloud (Park of Saint-Cloud), officially the Domaine national de Saint-Cloud (National estate of Saint-Cloud), is a domaine national (national estate) located mostly within the Saint-Cloud commune, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, near Paris, France!

Such a legendary vocalist and performer!!! R.I.P.

Great reaction Maddy! Sinead had a beautiful voice and she made this song her own.

I'm really surprised that some young rising female country singer doesn't cover this song.

This is a great song I remember when it came out!

She is beautiful inside and out. Poor broken soul, makes me sad to think of all she’s been through.

Rest in Peace Sinéad.

Sinead O'Connor's from Dublin, Ireland but unfortunately recently Died on July 26, 2023. This music or the b-roll was filmed in France. She was a rebel she has an infamous Saturday Night Live Appearance in 1992 she famously tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II.

F😢ew days ago when i hear that sad news about her, i was in tears all night long. R. I.P.😢

Thanks Maddy, great reaction, this was our treasured Irish Sinead O'Connor RIP, this was filmed in Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow in Ireland. Prince wrote the song (about his maid), Sinead RIP sung it (shortly after her mother's death) and made slight changes, integrating the memory of her own mother (instead of Prince's maid). Hope that helps. Love from Ireland

I only had the privilege to see her live once around 2010 ish, at a festival and her performance held me captivated the entire show - an incredible artist, not “just” a singer. Ireland has produced so much amazing artistic talent from such a relatively small population - U2, Boomtown Rats, The Cranberries being just a few that spring immediately to mind as well as Sinéad. Not sure if anyone else has commented - as a recall from the time, the original intention for this video was for it to be mostly what became the “B roll” - her walking around in what I think was maybe a cemetery in France (correction from someone else’s comment, it’s the grounds of a Saint Cloud commune)…maybe Paris (I got this right - it’s just in the suburbs of Paris) and the close up of her singing into the camera was planned to be the small inserted bits, but when they captured this performance, the plans all changed as just her looking into the camera and singing became so compelling. I also recall that as other have said, this was a Prince song and the “mama” reference was a term of endearment to the woman who had left him, but in filming this (and yes, I think it was actual film at the time), Sinéad suddenly connected with that line differently, thinking of her own mother and the crying that followed was completely unexpected, but she kept singing and they kept filming and they caught lightning in a bottle.

This song is unbelievable. I'm a guy but every time I hear it it almost makes me cry. I know she didn't write it but, damn, she made it hers. It's really weird to think that she's gone.

Sinead O'Connor and Aurora are SO very expressive, putting their hearts into their performances, YOU nailed it!

Nunca escuché y Vi una cantante como un ángel..QED.

It was shot in Dublin, Ireland.

She's not just one of the best artists of the 90's, for me she is the best female artist.

WOW WHAT A PERFORMANCE

It occurred to me that Prince likely wrote the song from the perspective of a man, and Sinead changed it when she recorded it. Some men might call their wife or girlfriend “mama” occasionally. Maybe this is what.Prince meant when he wrote it, and Sinead mistook the lyric to mean his mother, so she left it as it was. Either way, it kinda works. 🙂

This song still gives me chills

Her mother tortured Sinead during her whole childhood. Like literally tortured her. She used to make her lay on the floor and she would walk over her body or talk on the phone while standing over her and spitting her. She also kicked her all the time every day from morning til night. And she also made her sleep outside in a muddy pond during the winter season. And even with all that torture Sinead loved her mother more than anything in the world and was always trying to make her happy. In a recent interview Sinead said "the best thing about my mother is that she's dead, but I can't wait to die to be with her again cos I love her". Another sad thing is that Sinead's son committed suicide a couple years ago.

This was huge and a number one in many countries in 1990. You should check out her Shores of the Swilly, a very moving piece written by Phil Coulter about his sister, who left her daughter's 12th birthday party to help a suicidal client who was in distress. He took her into the water with him on Lough Swilly. When Phil sent Sinead this song he heard nothing all week and rang Sinead and asked did she not like the song? She said she hadn't stopped crying all week since it arrived. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ibOKlJSYqt6spmg.html

R. I. P. Sinead🕯️💫..

Conveying emotion is/was one of her great characteristics. To honour her I would have chosen one of the songs she wrote herself. There are very good examples, which made more impression on me (Troy, Drink before the war, Three babies, ...)

Loved the video coz I walked in the very same park when I visited Paris in June....

Before passing, she had recently posted that she would be working on a new album.

INCREDIBLE TALENT SINEAD WAS A TRUE PEOPLES ICON

This was huge when MTV played music videos all day. In the early days of KZfaq this video hit 3 million views when the biggest hits were barely reaching 1 million. Certain great songs are elevated even higher by their videos and this is one. .... and yes, that is a tear.

RIP S.O. Your struggles are over! Thanks for the joy and insight you gave us!

No one compares to Sinead. The music gods love her

Most likely filmed at Versaille outside of Paris. When she says "Momma" she's singing about her actual mother, who died when she was young.

Song by Prince, and I believe it has been covered by others, but this version by SINEAD is absolutely the best version, she owned it. The video is just so mesmerizing. 👍🍀

It was the adaption of Prince's song applied to the ending of a romantic relationship sang soon after the sudden death of her mother with whom she never got along but had hoped to repair daughter mother ties.

Such a sad loss. RIP Sinead!

Prince wrote this masterpiece for his band The Family - we are all blessed that Sinead sung this version, such an amazing voice

Is forgotten how much I love this song😢😢

Maddy thank you very much for your reaction to this clip! Under this composition, I danced with the girls, I saw the same clip. You ask where it was filmed, I can’t tell because I’m from Kazakhstan and at that time there was still a union, i.e. the USSR

I sure you have had this written before ... the song was written for a man by Prince ... so the lines with the flowers dying and the mama part were originally for a man and back then "MaMa" was a common term of endearment for a girlfriend /wife.

Imagine if there had been a Sinead O'Connor and Dolores O'Riordan collaboration.

Listen to the live version of Nothing compares to U. Sinead was AMAZING. RIP Sinead.

Yes! I see the sadness... I swear I do

Cool reaction.

It was about a year after I heard this beautiful, heartfelt song before I learned that it was written by Prince. Then I liked it even more.

After hearing she escaed Princes house as they wantded to play a pillow fight but he had something hard inside his pillow and had locked her inside the house chasing her. I now know Prince isnt who we thought he was. She mentioned this as her most scared moment in her life after she escaped getting out of his hoyse. Her whole life has been tough and went through so much pain and suffering. May she now find peace. RIP ❤

The reason “mama” is mentioned is, as said in other comments, Prince originally wrote it, and it was, of course, about a woman. It was really the only lyric from the original where they didn’t change the word to fit the masculine pronouns. So, basically a term of endearment for whomever Prince was writing about. Sinead, also as stated, associated that lyric with her own mother, so it made her cry. She said, later in life, that when she sang it, she always felt she was close to her mother. She was a stunning woman. Both physically and in spirit. A warrior of a woman that was unafraid to stand up and say what she felt. We lost a Celtic Queen in her. Check out her version of Sacrifice by Elton John. My absolute favorite song she ever did, though they are all worth a listen. Also, Black Boys on Mopeds. RIP Sinead ❤️🕊️

I think this is both about a love and her mother , Sinéad had a difficult life , she had a lot of hurt . Check out her other songs ,No Mans Wonan , Troy , thief of your heart , Ghost to make a few

The outdoor portions of the video w/Sinead walking around was filmed in a park called Parc de St.-Cloud in Paris. Gorgeous…😊

I have something to say with her......I crying...😄😥

she is already in the better world. there she can tear up the picture of the pope as much as she wants, and no one will blame her for anything, especially God. ❤

This was shot in a public access park just outside Paris, sure google will tell the name! R.I.P. Sinead, never be another like you, did so much politically in her lifetime for the betterment of her country.

Stunning

RIP Sinead, you will be fondly remembered.

I've seen it said that she had just split with her boyfriend- father of her oldest child- just before filming this video- like within a day or two. So that's why she had tears in her eyes. I'm also intrigued that you see hope in her eyes. I never did, and knowing her struggles with mental health, I just don't think hope was there.

Please do some of her own songs , this is a great song and she made it hers, but her songwriting is as good as her voice. She was one of a kind and will be sadly missed

It was filmed in Paris

RIP Sinead, it was a short trip but thank you. Jim

This song came out about 2 week's later, after the love of my life left me..

the video was filmed in Parc de Saint-Cloud Paris

Sinead O'Connor was a one-of-a-kind artist, who refused to be marketed as a sex object. I assume that most commenters already mentioned the meaning of this song (written by Prince)....but what Sinead is most notoriously known for, is while performing on the TV show 'Saturday Night Live' (SNL), she tore up a picture of Pope Jean Paul II as a protest against the Catholic Church. It seemed that she was blacklisted in the entertainment industry after that protest live on TV.

Prince can write one hell of song, and she did a world class interpretation of it.

RIP

Sinéad was something special alright. 😊

The song was written by Prince wgich explains the mama re3feference

It was 1990, I got released from maximum security prison, already a broken man, then my brother Paul was hit by a train, it killed himfucking broke me even more, then his wife Patti was pregnant, then this song came out, I fucking cried I cried and I cried and cried more, the year before my other brother Bobby died while I was in prison, now when I listen to this the tears do not stop, I continue to cry and cry, every day I went to work I would cry all day this is so sad this song

Un tema muy hermoso de esta cantante con maravillosa voz, siempre rebelde y que nunca aceptó la realidad de un mundo difícil de entender, injusto y a menudo absurdo. DEP, Sínead, maravillosa. Gracias por poner este gran tema, como homenaje a otra voz que se nos apagó demasiado pronto. 😢😢

your the only reactor who got it right......a broken heart....i cried hearing you say that....ngl....thank you

This song was written to her lover. She had found comfort and solace in his arms.

I love this video in 1990

Sinead was 20 when she recorded this song. She lost her mother when she was eighteen. She suffered sexual abuse as a child, and became a crusader for human rights and dignity.