Make every day sound like Mother’s Day with our collection of songs about moms. Through the entangled emotions and relationships that seep into every unique family dynamic, one thing transcends them all – the unconditional commitment of a mother to her family.
Our playlist crosses the genres to show that it doesn’t matter what your past is, a mother’s message is always love.
Songs About Moms
1. Dolly Parton – Coat Of Many Colors
Dolly Parton’s classic country hit, Coat Of Many Colours weaves a cosy story of childhood throughout its lyrics.
The dreary poverty which Parton’s protagonist was raised in fails to dim her rosy memory of youth as she fondly recalls her mother’s crafty intuition in creating a rainbow coat from old ends of cloth.
The handmade gift of a multicoloured coat reflects how a mother’s love dissolves the harshness of reality, embroidered with a mom’s natural nestkeeping skills of stitching together a rainbowed childhood out of rags and ruins;
“Although we had no money, I was rich as I could be in my coat of many colors, my momma made for me.”
2. Snoop Dogg – I Love My Momma
Snoop Dogg’s infectious message is crystal clear enough to melt any mother’s heart.
He heroizes his mom as his queen, listing every positive foundation that she built for him since the start, such as “how to care, how to share, how to love and give … how to read and write, how to fight, my do’s and don’ts, my wills and wont’s.”
While every deep relationship is bound to become brittle at some point, Snoop’s song acknowledges their downfalls and brushes them aside, giving both stage and spotlight to mirroring his mom’s unconditional love back to her.
3. Lionel Richie – Three Times A Lady
Three Times A Lady is a classic love song so potent in its soulfulness that it transcends its simplest meaning of romance, becoming a song that praises any inspiring woman in your life.
Lionel’s lyrics translate to a mother perfectly as she carries enough strength to fulfil every single one of her children’s and husband’s needs and more, with every action rooted deeply in unconditional love.
This song gives thanks to the woman who loves you more than anyone as you near the end of your relationship.
In this motherly context, it’s like a final farewell to an elderly parent, “Thanks for the times that you’ve given me, the memories are all in my mind, and now that we’ve come to the end of our rainbow, there’s something I must say out loud. You’re once, twice, three times a lady, and I love you.”
4. Boys II Men – A Song For Mama (Mothers In Heaven)
Boys II Men lay bare their hearts in their track A Song For Mama. Their slow R&B grooves are filled with tributes to a passed mom, defining her presence and memory as “the driving force in my life.”
A Song For Mama embodies the nurturing warmth and comfort innate to moms within its satin sound, while idolizing her countless strengths and the ever-lasting guidance she blessed him with.
Boys II Men fit a resonating, eternal line within their chorus, “Your love is like tears from the stars, mama I just want you to know, loving you is like food to my soul.”
5. Kate Bush – This Woman’s Work
This Woman’s Work is a delicate ballad about the countless sacrifices a woman will make for her family till the end of her life.
Kate Bush crafts a moment of breaking vulnerability amid the relentless, unbreakable strength a woman must always exhibit.
She writes the diary of any resilient mom through her lyrics, “I should be crying, but I just can’t let it show, I should be hoping but I can’t stop thinking… all the things that you needed from me, darling, make it go away.”
Padded with trance-like screams, this song is a dark but honest take on the unsung side of motherhood.
6. Immortal Technique – Dance With The Devil
Dance With The Devil is one of the most sickly yet profound songs on Earth; its story is a cruelly realistic train wreck showing the consequences a misfortunate upbringing.
Immortal Technique tells a crippling story from the eyes of a son, briefly detailing his mother as an addict before he’s collected into gang life and violent crime as a young boy, inadvertently following the bleak path of his mom’s footsteps.
The mom plays a very discreet role until the track’s climax, whilst reflecting the clear and crushing influence a neglectful parent has on their children despite them hardly even being there.
The track also draws in on how the deep but disastrous bond found within gangs can replace the love of a broken family.
Dance With The Devil describes graphic abuse and is certainly not a track for the faint hearted, but is an exceptional work of art nonetheless.
7. Jackie Evancho & Susan Boyle – A Mother’s Prayer
Jackie Evancho & Susan Boyle’s angelic rendition of A Mother’s Prayer was made for mothers who hold their spirituality as closely to their hearts as their children.
A Mother’s Prayer asks God to take the family under his protective wing as a mother singing for the children who are too young to pray: “I pray you’ll be our eyes, and watch us where we go … When we lose our way, guide us with your grace to a place where we’ll be safe.”
This softly operatic piece is a refreshing, peace-filled contrast to other songs on our list, flooded with blessings of comforting light as it bridges the precious bond of a mother between her child and the Father.
Like Kate Bush’s track, this song peers into an intimate motherly moment that is usually kept hidden and protected.
8. Tupac Shakur – Dear Mama
Dear Mama reflects on the struggles of a poverty-stricken single mom trying to raise a son by herself.
Tupac candidly presents his troubled childhood and the sacrifices his mom made for him and her endless commitment to fill the chasm left by the absent father.
His song gives back to his mother by appreciating her endless work; “I could see you coming home after work late, you’re in the kitchen trying to fix us a hot plate, you just working with the scraps you was given, and Mama made miracles every thanksgiving.”
This song is swept with a lush R&B vibe and a grown son’s gratitude for his mother’s strength, a theme tune for any mother who raised their children with dignity: “You always was a black queen, mama, I finally understand, for a woman it ain’t easy trying to raise a man.”