Advertisement

arts entertainmentPop Music

5 of the best songs about moms, just in time for Mother's Day

There's no shortage of songs about mothers. Trouble is, most of them are saccharine (Backstreet Boys' "The Perfect Fan"), hopelessly sad (John Lennon's "Mother") or way too strange (Pink Floyd's "Mother.")

And don't even get us started on Jim Morrison's Oedipal tribute to his mom in "The End."

So what's a child supposed to play on Mother's Day? We sifted through a mountain of mama songs to find five of the best odes to mom.

Advertisement

"Mama Said," the Shirelles (1961)

News Roundups

Catch up on the day's news you need to know.

Or with:

Mom might not be your first or best choice for a dating coach. Yet the mother in the Shirelles' ditty handles the situation perfectly, soothing her daughter's broken heart with a simple message of hope. Partly inspired by another great motherly advice song ("Shop Around" by the Miracles), "Mama Said" went on to inspire Van Morrison to write his 1995 gem "Days Like This."

"Mama Tried," Merle Haggard (1968)

Advertisement

Tear-stained honky-tonk at its catchiest, "Mama Tried" is a mostly true-life tale of how the Hag wound up in jail despite his mom's good parenting. The son in "Mama Tried" is locked away for life, but in real life, Haggard got sprung after a few years and sang the song in person to his mom, Flossie Mae Haggard. A No. 1 country hit, it's been covered by everyone from the Grateful Dead to Willie Nelson to Dallas' Old 97's.

"Dear Mama," Tupac Shakur (1995)

Advertisement

Being a mom isn't easy, especially when you're struggling with poverty and addiction. That's the message of Tupac's eloquent ode to his mom, the political activist Afeni Shakur Davis. "A poor single mother on welfare, tell me how you did it?" Tupac half-raps, half-sings with an air of disbelief. "There's no way I can pay you back, but the plan is to show you that I understand: You are appreciated."

"Hey Mama," Kanye West (2005)

If anyone has ever truly understood the complicated mind of Kanye West, it was Donda West, who raised her only child as a single mother. Kanye paid her back with this heartfelt tribute, which he first recorded in 2000, seven years before she died unexpectedly at age 58. He stopped performing "Hey Mama" nearly a decade ago, but the recording from 2005's Late Registration still resonates, thanks to a soulful assist from John Legend and all those glorious "la-la-la's" borrowed from Donal Leace's obscure R&B single, "Today Won't Come Again."

"Mother Rose," Patti Smith (2004)

Her early records brimmed with rage, but punk poet Patti Smith showed off her tender side on this wistful ballad from her ninth album, Trampin'. Although the singer wrote it for her own mother, Beverly Smith, "Mother Rose" is a universal reminder to take care of the moms who spent so much time taking care of us.