Mother's Day, Vol. 6

Mother's Day is this coming weekend, and it feels like the last year has both flown and crawled by. I've officially survived a year plus of motherhood, and I can truthfully report it's the hardest and best thing I've ever done. Coming up is the 2025 Audio Aesthetics Mother's Day Playlist - the full master playlist can, as always, be found on Apple Music by following @audioaesthetics. Let's jump in and see how we're musically celebrating our moms and mom-like figures (and the dads who fill that role as well when needed) this year!

Blended Family (What You Do For Love) by Alicia Keys ft. A$AP Rocky (written by A. Augello Cook, R. Mayers, E. Brickell, J. Houser, D. Kuncio, B. Aly, J. Bush, K. Withrow, L. Hyman)

Featured on Keys's 2016 album HERE, this song is a sweet declaration of love from the point of view of a stepmom. Not all family is blood, and the bonds between those nonbiological family members can be just as strong, in some cases even stronger. I've seen many wonderful friends step into the role of "bonus mom," and it's a beautiful thing to witness.

Hey, I might not really be your mother/That don’t mean that I don’t really love ya/And even though I married your father/It’s not the only reason I’m here for ya/I think you’re beautiful, I think you’re perfect/I know how hard it gets, but I swear it’s worth it, worth it/‘Cause what you do, what you do, what you do, what you do for love/There ain’t nothing, there ain’t nothing, there ain’t nothing I won’t do for us/It may not be easy, displaced from mommy, but baby/‘Cause what you do, what you do, what you do, what you do for love, love

Baby Mine by Betty Noyes (written by F. Churchill, N. Washington)

Featured on the soundtrack to the 1941 Disney classic Dumbo, I legitimately have tears in my eyes listening to this song as I write. Not only is Dumbo my favorite classic Disney movie, but this song was a go to for my mom when I was fussy growing up and it's now become one of my daughter's favorite songs as well. Whether you like the movie or not (it's definitely a product of its time), this scene will always be one of the most beautiful the studio has ever made.

Baby mine, don’t you cry/Baby mine, dry your eyes/Rest your head close to my heart/Never to part, baby of mine/Little one, when you play/Don’t you mind what they say/Let those eyes sparkle and shine/Never a tear, baby of mine

Can You Feel the Love Tonight by Elton John (written by E. John, T. Rice)

Featured on the soundtrack to the unrivaled 1993 Disney film The Lion King, this song usually has romantic connotations since it's the love them for the movie. Looking over the lyrics this year, though, I can totally see how I can sing this to my little girl and it's not weird. Motherhood is both very loud and very quiet, but it fills up my heart with a different warmth and a light that I'd never experienced before.

There’s a calm surrender to the rush of day/When the heat of a rolling wind can be turned away/An enchanted moment, and it sees me through/It’s enough for this restless warrior just to be with you/And can you feel the love tonight, it is where we are/It’s enough for this wide-eyed wanderer that we got this far/And can you feel the love tonight, how it’s laid to rest/It’s enough to make kings and vagabonds believe the very best

If You Want a Mother by Gretchen Wilson (written by G. Wilson, R. Rutherford, G. Teren)

Featured on Wilson's 2007 album One of the Boys, this is a one of those "I ain't your mama" country songs (iykyk). I am so grateful every day that my husband has never expected me to mother anyone in this house except our baby. That being said, this song is funny and sassy, and definitely fits Wilson's brand.

You want me to bring you home the bacon/Fry it up and serve it to you, too/When I don’t, you act so god forsaken/Like somehow, I’ve been mistreating you/I know that’s the way your mama did it/She waited on you dang near all your life/It took a while, but now I finally get it/You were never looking for a wife/If you want a mother, I can be one/That ain’t all that difficult for me/We can do it your way from now on, son/And I’ll show you what a mother I can be

Retrospection by Jinjer (written by E. Abdiukhanov, R. Ibramkhalilov, T. Shmailiuk, V. Ulasevych)

Featured on Jinjer's 2019 album Macro, this song includes thinking about your mother and father in moments of deep introspection. It's kind of a wild song to have on here, but the narrator's mother is mentioned multiple times so I'll count it. It's honestly a good song, and my husband will like seeing it here.

Slip and fall straight into the arms of my mother/Break down and go right into the healing hands of my father/It’s been a while since I came home/My heart is elsewhere as I roam and roam/Until I find myself alone/Childhood of misery is lifelong injury/No, it’s not for me, what I’ve always had/Father’s love and mother’s hand/Nobody has ever seen a bird crawl back to its eggshell/Followed by the bygone scenes/it makes me wanna get through them again/I retrace my steps/To fall back into my nest/In a minute, eyes are closed/Just to feel where I’m supposed to be

Mama, I'm Alright by Miranda Lambert (written by M. Lambert, T. Howard)

Featured on Lambert's 2005 album Kerosene, this song will probably hit for you if you've ever had a mom worry over you. Even if you tell her you're fine (sometimes truthfully and sometimes not), there's something about knowing your mom is always thinking about you. That bond is so strong, and even if it feels overbearing at times, it's special and irreplaceable.

The sun just got through going down on a sleepy little Texas town/Population plus one, minus one/A new grandma rocks my sister’s kid, just like twenty years ago she did/The same thing in the same chair, she said, "This one’s born to run"/Every day at noon, like a chapel bell, "Find her Jesus, keep her well/Help her do more right than wrong at the end of the day"/I got five gears and a tank of gas, fifty watts and Johnny Cash/A guitar and a broken heart just full of things to say/You taught me how to stand those tests and trials/But you can’t see a desert sunrise in the Bible/She loves me more than anything, and she wants the world for me/Her west dropped off in El Paso and her north in Abilene/Mama, I’m okay out here, I’ve seen how hard the world can be/My step is sure and I know my name, I’m strong just like you prayed I’d be/I’m strong just like you prayed I’d be

Mama by My Chemical Romance (written by M. Way, R. Toro, F. Iero, B. Bryar, G. Way)

Featured on MCR's 2006 album The Black Parade, this is a banger from the peak of emo music. No mom wants to hear these things said to her by her child, but so many children truly feel like these things need to be said. It's fairly hopeless lyrics over a bright, boppy beat.

Mama, we all go to hell/Mama, we all go to hell/I’m writing this letter and wishing you well/Mama, we all go to hell/Oh well, now, Mama, we’re all gonna die/Mama, we’re all gonna die/Stop asking me questions, I’d hate to see you cry/Mama, we’re all gonna die/And when we go, don’t blame us, yeah/We’ll let the fires just bathe us, yeah/You made us oh-so famous, we’ll never let you go/And when you go, don’t return to me, my love

Happy Mother's Day to anyone in that role being celebrated this weekend, and if you aren't one of those, make sure you tell yours how much you love and appreciate her. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!