Country music’s canon of songs is filled with compositions celebrating the support and comfort of family — and particularly the championing, caring, uplifting work of mother figures, whether they be biological, adoptive, or titular.
There are numerous country songs about moms and motherhood, such as The Chicks’ “Lullaby” or Faith Hill’s “You Can’t Lose Me,” songs both modern (such as Lauren Alaina’s 2011 release “Like My Mother Does”) and classic (such as the 1993 Glen Campbell and Steve Wariner collaboration “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle”).
Songs such as Country Music Hall of Famer Reba McEntire’s 1991 Hot Country Songs top 10 hit hit “Fancy” highlight the lengths to which mothers will go to ensure their children have a chance at a better life. Other hits, such as Blake Shelton’s “The Baby,” delve into the grief of losing a mother. Country music has always included a considerable portion of songs that revolve around nostalgia — whether for a childhood hometown or a young love — but also on idyllic memories of a matriarch’s unconditional love and guidance. And of course, there is the bit of advice that Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson offered to mothers everywhere, when they released their 1978, four-week Country Songs No. 1, “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”
As Mother’s Day approaches and families prepare to shower mothers with flowers, Sunday brunches at fancy restaurants, and other gifts that honor them for being a bedrock of strength to those around them, adding music to the mix never hurts.
Ahead of Mother’s Day, Billboard looks at 10 country songs celebrating and acknowledging the role of mothers on their children’s lives.
