Play These Songs Whenever You Miss Your Mom (2024)

It’s no surprise that kids change you. But a better word for the adage is they reinvent you. After Beyoncé had her first child, Blue Ivy Carter, in 2012, she said she was “reborn” and that her “quest for self became even stronger.” Shortly after, she put out this gilded ode to her daughter set on a Brazilian beachfront and featuring her warm, honey-like vocals.

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We like to think of country artist Martina McBride’s “In My Daughter’s Eyes” as a pretty prelude to her almost satirical “Teenage Daughters” track that comes a few years later. No matter how you think of it, though, no one can deny the impressive set of pipes on this stunning soprano from Kansas.

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From her early days as Disney’s Hannah Montana to morphing into the accomplished enigma we see onstage today, Miley Cyrus has taken the world—and definitely her mother, Tish Cyrus—for quite the ride. So, of course, “Mother’s Daughter” is an explicit anthem from the singer that unleashed one very meaningful life lesson she’s learned along the way: Be your own damn self.

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A track off Carole King’s 1971 album Tapestry, “Where You Lead” was re-recorded by King and her daughter Louise Goffin in 2000 for the opening theme song of Gilmore Girls. According to BuzzFeed, the lyrics, which were originally written about the love between a woman and a man, were tweaked slightly—the result of which became the rallying cry for female friendship.

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A tender serenade composed for her daughter, Evangeline Ruth Carlile, Brandi Carlile’s “The Mother” encapsulates the tireless duties and the joyous rewards of motherhood in about three and a half minutes. The video, starring real-life New York City moms, is a pretty stellar work of art too.

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Where does the time go? It’s the springboard for the string-heavy “Mama’s Song,” sung by girl-power superstar Carrie Underwood, whose lyrics reassure her mama that the man waiting at the end of the aisle for her is one of the good ones. Looking for a mother-daughter wedding dance song? Not sure it gets more on the nose than this one.

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It’s not all bouncy disco and dancing queens with ABBA. They do get melancholic. So you can probably guess what the Swedish pop group’s “Slipping Through My Fingers” off their swan-song album is about—read: They grow up so fast. But the lump that will get lodged in your throat, whether you have kids or not, might come unexpected.

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If you’re not familiar with Lee Ann Womack’s 2000 signature waltzing hit that set up shop atop the country charts, then maybe you remember it from the Tyler Perry film The Family That Preys. Gladys Knight sings a version to close the film, but the choice of vocalist doesn’t alter the meaning: Take chances; don’t be afraid to try something new.

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Even though Céline Dion’s heart-wrenching tribute is tied to the romance between Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford in Up Close & Personal, it was actually written for a different kind of love. Prolific hall of famer Diane Warren penned the song for her father. “For all those times you stood by me”—those words work for Mom too. Flexible lyrics like that really are a testament to Warren’s songwriting brilliance.

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They don’t call her the queen of country music for nothing. With 30 some-odd number one singles over the course of her decades-long career, there’s only one thing left to do: Put ’em all on an album. That’s what she did with Reba #1’s. On it, there’s “You’re Gonna Be,” a sweet reminder that no matter what, a mother’s love is forever.

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Just because you aren’t blood doesn’t mean you don’t love each other with all your hearts. And Alicia Keys, whose marriage to Swizz Beatz came with the songstress adopting another title, step-mom, knows this better than anyone. So what does she do? She sings about it.

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Moana forgoes any typical trope and instead sends its voyager princess on a journey to self-discovery. Rooted in family tradition, it comes with a wealth of musical gold, courtesy of Lin-Manuel Miranda. “How Far I’ll Go,” performed by Hawaiian Auli’l Cravalho, is about a young woman answering her calling to become the single-name Disney heroine we know she can be. And it’s glorious.

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It’s nothing fancy. It’s actually a song the mega pop star wrote when she was a teenager. But its lyrics, profound in their simplicity, just age with meaning. As the years go by, lines like, “It could stay this simple” and “You got nothing to regret,” begin to hit Daughter in the gut the same way they got Mom tearing up when she first heard it.

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Parting ways at 18 wasn’t really a thing for the Judds. Country’s power familial duo composed of mom Naomi and daughter Wynonna instead started making sweet music together. And one of their most renowned songs to this day, “Mama’s He’s Crazy,” came off that very debut album.

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As part of the photorealistic animated remake of The Lion King, Beyoncé released a companion album aptly titled The Gift. On it, there is a glowing track (among many) called “Brown Skin Girl." Meaningful in its message, it even gives Beyoncé’s 8-year-old, Blue Ivy, a couple verses to do her thing.

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More than the woman who made you, she’s a buddy for life. And even though “You’re My Best Friend,” a well-spun track from rock and roll royalty Queen, is a composition dedicated to bass player John Deacon’s wife, the words can be borrowed and loaned to the woman you call Mom.

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She told you that one day they would notice you, one day they would break your heart, and one day they would appreciate you. She had advice for everything. And she was right. Celebrate that encouragement with pioneering girl group The Shirelles, who were the first to say in perfect harmony, mind you, “Mama said there'll be days like this.”

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In a soothing departure from the comedic melodies and mighty mega hits Disney movies have become synonymous with, Evan Rachel Wood, who voices Queen Elsa’s mother, Iduna, lends her buttery sound to a beautiful lullaby from mother to daughter nestled in the soundtrack of Frozen 2. Kacey Musgraves sings an enchanting version as well.

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Not that Southern songbird Kacey Musgraves has children, but if she did, she’d have no problem getting them to sleep. The haze of sincerity that embraces each of her songs is calming magic. With “Mother,” however, the artist gets deep. “I started thinking about the cycle of mothers and the fact that I was sitting there in Tennessee missing my mom who was sitting there in Texas missing her mom,” she told Taste of Country.

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Whenever we think of Diana Ross, three words come to mind: Woman is boss. We’d say that affection goes for Mom, too. And there’s no better love song to rock out to together than former Supreme Diana Ross’s 1970 solo crossover hit (originally recorded by Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye in 1967) that climbed its own mountain to number one on both the pop and R&B singles charts.

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