Mother's Day songs from daughters and sons, and for new moms

Mother's Day in the US is Sunday, May 9, 2027, and the UK gets there first with Mothering Sunday on March 7, 2027. Need one song in the next minute? Send "The Best Day" by Taylor Swift (2008). It's a grown daughter remembering the days her mom made better, starting at age five.

The rest of these Mother's Day songs are grouped by who's sending them and what kind of mom is getting them. Copy a title into a text and you're halfway there.

Songs for mom from a daughter

Somewhere in her house there's still a card you made with a glue stick, and half the glitter has stayed on it. These songs are for the grown-up version of that kid.

Go by what she sings along to in the car. If she'd have to look an artist up, skip it, however much you love the song. One line about why you picked it does more than a paragraph.

Two of these are sung by a mom to her girl, and our list of songs about daughters has plenty more like them.

• "Mama" by Spice Girls (1996). For the daughter who was a nightmare at fifteen and will admit it now.
• "Slipping Through My Fingers" by ABBA (1981). In the Mamma Mia film, Meryl Streep sings it while getting her daughter ready for the wedding. Have tissues nearby.
• "Mother" by Kacey Musgraves (2018). It's over in under a minute and a half. Play it down the phone when you call from another time zone.
• "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion (1996). Big and very 1996 (in a good way). Do your crying in the car before you knock on her door.
• "Wings" by Little Mix (2012). Mom's advice in the first line, a stomping chorus by the end. Made for anyone who was about ten when it came out.
• "Teach Your Children" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1970). Graham Nash wrote it, and the second verse turns it around so the kids do the teaching. Good for the mom you taught to send voice notes.
• "Mama's Song" by Carrie Underwood (2009). Save it for the year you got engaged. Carrie Underwood tells her mom the man she picked treats her right.
• "In My Daughter's Eyes" by Martina McBride (2003). Technically her song to you. Send it anyway, with a baby photo.
• "Mama Said" by The Shirelles (1961). Mama warned her about days like this, and mama was right.
• "Mom" by Meghan Trainor (2016). Bouncy and a little goofy, so pick it if your mom would rather laugh than cry on the day.

Mother's Day songs from a son

Easier than a speech. Plenty of the songs about moms on this page come from sons, so you're in good company if the words won't come out on their own. If you'd be embarrassed to play it with your brother in the car, it's probably the right one.

So write two lines in the card too. "Thanks for every packed lunch, even the tuna ones. Love, Malik" is plenty, and there are more thank-you card messages if you freeze.

For your wedding, use the mother-son dance songs list instead, because a dance needs a steady beat more than a lump in the throat.

• "A Song for Mama" by Boyz II Men (1997). If you send one song from this list, send this one. The harmonies do the talking for you.
• "Mother of Mine" by Neil Reid (1971). A Scottish schoolboy sang it, and you can hear it. Old-fashioned and sweet, and best for a mom born in the 1950s or 1960s.
• "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd (1973). Advice from his mama, sung slow, with the guitars taking their time. It suits the drive over more than the table.
• "Mama Used to Say" by Junior (1982). British soul with a bass line that gets the uncles dancing. It's all his mama's advice about growing up.
• "The Wish" by Bruce Springsteen (1998). Springsteen's song for his own mother. It sat unreleased for years before it came out on his Tracks box set.
• "I'll Always Love My Mama" by The Intruders (1973). Put it on for a mom who grew up on 1970s soul. By the second chorus, the whole table's singing.
• "Lady Madonna" by The Beatles (1968). Kids at her feet and bills to pay, over a bouncing piano. If your mom made it work on not much, she'll hear herself in it.
• "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban (2003). A cover (Secret Garden had it first) that builds to a huge finish. Use it as the closer or not at all.
• "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard (1968). For the son who was hard work and knows it.

For a brand-new mom

Take the baby for an hour before you play her anything. On her first Mother's Day she may still be working out which cry means what, so a nap and breakfast in bed (burnt toast is fine) will land before any song does.

Partners, this list is mostly for you. Put three or four of these on her phone for the night feeds, and turn the volume down before you hand it over. Anything about kids leaving home can wait a few years.

• "The Mother" by Brandi Carlile (2018). About her first daughter, worry and all. Brandi Carlile doesn't make it sound easy.
• "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" by Billy Joel (1993). Billy Joel's song for his daughter, Alexa. Quiet enough for the 2 a.m. feed.
• "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" by John Lennon (1980). Lennon wrote it for his son, Sean, and it's the one with the line about life happening while you're making other plans.
• "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder (1976). Over six minutes long, with his baby daughter Aisha crying right at the start.
• "Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)" by The Chicks (2002). A slow lullaby for a little boy, recorded back when they were the Dixie Chicks.
• "She Used to Be Mine" by Sara Bareilles (2015). Fair warning. It's about missing the woman she was before, and it lands hard on a tired new mom.
• "Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLachlan (2006). From the Charlotte's Web film, and gentle enough to sit under a first-bath video.

For a mom who keeps country on

Her car radio hasn't left the country station since you were in a car seat. She knows the harmony parts and sings them when she thinks nobody's listening. Ask for her top three. You'll get five, with the years.

Leave the cheating songs for another Sunday. One funny breakup song made the cut (she'll know which one), and it's worth it.

• "Mama He's Crazy" by The Judds (1984). Sung by a real mother and daughter, Naomi and Wynonna Judd, about a man who's crazy about the daughter.
• "Coal Miner's Daughter" by Loretta Lynn (1970). Her mother scrubbing clothes on a washboard, every single day. Send it to the mom who raised you on hard work.
• "Mother Like Mine" by The Band Perry (2010). The band is a sister and her two brothers, so this one comes from the whole family. Kimberly Perry sings lead.
• "Humble and Kind" by Tim McGraw (2015). Lori McKenna wrote it with her own kids in mind. Your mom will recognize half the rules as hers.
• "Mama's Broken Heart" by Miranda Lambert (2011). The funny one. Mama's cure for a breakup is fixed makeup and better manners.
• "Daddy Sang Bass" by Johnny Cash (1968). Mama sang tenor in this family. Carl Perkins wrote it, and it suits anyone who harmonized on long car trips.
• "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts (2006). A parent's wish list for a grown kid. Good when her youngest has just moved out.
• "I'm a Survivor" by Reba McEntire (2001). For the single mom who did it all herself. It was the theme song for Reba's TV show.

For a mom who's gone

This one's harder. The day can hit like a bruise after she's died, and the flower ads don't stop for anyone.

Some families take coffee to the grave. Others cook her recipe on the day and let her music play in the kitchen while it bakes, the way she used to. Either is fine, and so is staying in bed. If there are a few of you, let each pick one song and play them oldest to youngest.

If you're planning a service, our list of funeral songs for mom has hymns and slideshow picks as well.

• "Wildflowers" by Tom Petty (1994). Plant something she liked and play this while you dig.
• "We'll Meet Again" by Vera Lynn (1939). A British wartime song about seeing someone again one day. Your mom's mother may well have hummed it.
• "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill (2001). From the Pearl Harbor soundtrack, about carrying someone with you after they've gone.
• "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton (1974). Quieter than Whitney Houston's cover. Dolly wrote it as a goodbye, and it sounds like one.
• "Hymn to Her" by The Pretenders (1986). For daughters most of all. Chrissie Hynde sings about what passes from one woman to the next.
• "The Rose" by Bette Midler (1979). Good if she grew roses. The last verse is about a seed waiting out the winter.

For the brunch table

You've got the 11 a.m. brunch reservation and a corsage from the grocery store in the fridge. Your brother is late again (he's always late). Play these in the car on the way, or at the table if you're cooking at home.

Let the youngest grandkid pick one, whatever it turns out to be. And keep the volume under the talking.

Grandma came to chat.

• "Respect" by Aretha Franklin (1967). Otis Redding wrote it, but Aretha owns it. Let her spell out the letters.
• "Mother and Child Reunion" by Paul Simon (1972). The title came off a restaurant menu, where it was a chicken and egg dish. Very brunch.
• "Your Mama Don't Dance" by Loggins and Messina (1972). Play it and see if she proves the title wrong.
• "Mamma Mia" by ABBA (1975). Nothing to do with mothers. She'll sing every word anyway.
• "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan (1978). Ashford and Simpson wrote it, and the original still beats every cover.
• "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge (1979). Four actual sisters, so it counts.
• "Beautiful Day" by U2 (2000). Slow to get going. Start it as the food arrives.

For the mom who's heard them all

None of these songs know her name.

A HeartCraft song card does. You tell HeartCraft who it's for and share a few memories (the reading glasses she hunts for while they're on her head, or the way she answers the phone), and her name is sung in the chorus with your stories in the lines.

You pick the language and the feel of the song. It's ready in about 10 minutes and arrives on your WhatsApp or email as a link, so you can play it at the table or forward it to her. Or keep the idea for later and start one for her birthday.

Odds and ends

What are good mothers day songs for church?

Hymns the whole room can sing without the book, like "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" or "His Eye Is on the Sparrow". Ask the music director before you print anything, since the choir may already have the morning planned.

What should I pick for a stepmom?

A thank-you song beats one about childhood, since she may have joined the family later. Add a line in the card about the year she arrived, and she'll know you noticed.

How many songs does a brunch playlist need?

About 30 fills two hours. Put the slower ones in the middle, while everyone's eating, and the loud ones last, once the plates are cleared.

Do the same songs work for Mothering Sunday?

Yes, all of them. Mothering Sunday falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent, so if there's church that morning, save the brunch list for lunch. The date moves every year with Easter.