It’s Mother’s Day and nothing goes better with that breakfast-in-bed or mimosa-fueled brunch than a playlist of songs about how much you love your mom.
Indeed, mothers have inspired a lot of songs over the years from all different genres. Kanye West and Tupac Shakur rapped about their moms (“Hey Mama” and “Dear Mama” respectively); Good Charlotte rocked out with “Thank You, Mom,” and Meghan Trainor sang about how her mom’s da bomb in the aptly-titled “Mom.”
Here are 5 more songs that honour the incredible women who made us:
Featured on the Spice Girls’ 1996 debut album Spice, this tribute to mothers was penned by all five members of the group along with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard.
“Ever other day I crossed the line, I didn't mean to be so bad,” they sing. “I never thought you would become the friend I never had / Back then I didn't know why, why you were misunderstood / So now I see through your eyes, all that you did was love.”
In the book Real Spice The Official Story, Mel B said of the song: “The sentiments are really that your mum's probably the best friend that you've got. Whether she's an over-protective mother or a bit of a landmine, she probably knows you better than yourself in some ways.”
Melanie C added that “Mama” is “all about how you're such a cow to your mum when you're going through that rebellious teenage stage. Then when you get a bit older, you realize that whatever she was doing, she was only doing it for your own good. And you think: 'God, I was really horrible.’”
“Mama you taught me to do the right things / So now you have to let your baby fly,” sings Carrie Underwood. “You've given me everything that I will need / To make it through this crazy thing called life.”
Written by Underwood with Kara DioGuardi, Marti Frederiksen, and Luke Laird, the song is all about telling mom it’s okay to let her daughter go on to the next phase of her life. This one gets played at a lot of weddings.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bpFW4Yhy08k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This ode to moms was included on the Backstreet Boys’ third album, Millennium, in 1999.
Penned by BSB’s Brian Littrell with Thomas Smith, the song is a loving son’s message to mom.
“You showed me when I was young just how to grow / You showed me everything that I should know / You showed me just how to walk without your hands / ‘Cause mom you always were / The perfect fan.”
Who doesn’t love a man who loves his mom?
“So when you’re lost and you’re tired / When you’re broken in two,” Justin Bieber sings, “Let my love take you higher / ‘Cause I still turn to you .”
The Canadian superstar pays tribute to mom Pattie Mallette in this 2012 song written by Bieber and MAGIC!’s Nasri with Adam Messinger, Jacob Pena and Tom Strahle.
The track mentions how a young, single Mallette struggled to raise Bieber in small-town Ontario.
Written by Babyface, this 1997 song from Boyz II Men is schmaltzy — and borderline creepy — love letter to mom.
“You taught me everything / And everything you've given me / I always keep it inside / You’re the driving force in my life,” the guys sing.
“Never gonna go a day without you / Fills me up just thinking about you / I’ll never go a day without my mama.”