From birth (and even before it), mothers are always there for their children, and always will be. But it’s a symbiotic relationship: Mother and child have expectations and needs of each other, and even if those aren’t always met, it’s not the end of the world because maternal love is a strong healer of wounds.

For Great Caesar frontman John Michael Parker, it took a trip to a correctional institution to help realize that, and he wrote about this in his band’s new song “Hey Mama”, which is premiering today exclusively on Nerdist.

“‘Hey Mama’ is a song about love, responsibility, and regret,” Parker said. “I wrote it after visiting the Marion Correctional Institution in Ohio, thinking about the hopes and expectations between a mother and son, especially those that go unfulfilled. To me, the song is an expression of what I know to be true in my own life: that even as we grow up–or maybe especially as we grow up–a child will seek the singular comfort in doing right by his mother, from the simplest gestures to the most challenging decisions.”

The song is poignant, mid-tempo indie rock tune with sing-along harmonized vocals and top-notch production, and is taken from the band’s upcoming EP Jackson’s Big Sky, which comes out on March 25, 2016. The band will also be playing a handful of shows in New York City in January, so find their upcoming schedule on their website.

Listen to Great Caesar’s “Hey Mama” below.

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Featured image via Great Caesar