A mother is a multifaceted being. Sometimes loving, sometimes fierce, always one-of-a-kind, many a musician has attempted to define motherhood, often with their own mothers acting as the ultimate muse.
We found 34 of our favorite songs about motherhood, and ranked them from “eh, tenuously mommish” to “ultra super mom-tastic.” So take a look, enjoy and make sure you add them to your Mother’s Day playlist so you can set a little “mombience” on Sunday. Although you might want to leave a few of these off entirely, to be honest, unless you’ve got mom issues. And, hey, who doesn’t?
More:You can’t just take Mother’s Day off when you’re a mom
34. Dear Mama, Tupac Shakur
Video:2PacVEVO/YouTube
This award-winning song by Tupac Shakur belongs much closer to the number one spot on this list, but we’re throwing it up top so you have a chance to blast it while you browse the rest. Written for Shakur’s mother Afeni, this song seems particularly bittersweet in light of her recent passing.
Most mom-tastic lyric:
And I appreciate, how you raised me/ And all the extra love that you gave me/ I wish I could take the pain away/ If you can make it through the night there’s a brighter day
33. Closing Time, Semisonic
Video: SemisonicVEVO/YouTube
This song is literally about last call at the bar, but later, Dan Wilson, who wrote it while his girlfriend was pregnant, said he realized it was also about anticipating fatherhood. So where does the momming come in? Wilson said that the song can also be interpreted as “being sent forth from the womb as if by a bouncer clearing out a bar.”
Most mom-tastic lyric:
Closing time/ Time for you to go out to the places you will be from/ Closing time/ This room won’t be open ’til your brothers or you sisters come.
32. Motherlover, The Lonely Island
Video: thelonelyisland/ YouTube
Hey, technically this is totally a song about motherhood. Just a really weird, Oedipus-flavored, skin-crawly one.
Most mom-tastic lyric:
Cause every Mothers Day needs a Mothers Night/ If doing it is wrong, I don’t wanna be right/ I’m callin on you cause I can’t do it myself/ To me you’re like a brother, so be my mother lover.
31. Mother’s Little Helper, Rolling Stones
Video:TheOldrecordclub/YouTube
This chipper little ode to the stressed-out mom reaching for her bottle of Valium was probably supposed to be a criticism of the rise of psycho-pharmaceuticals, but we feel for the moms of the ’60s. No judgement here.
Most mom-tastic lyric:
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 helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day
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