Mother Songs

Andrew Careaga follows the thursday thirteen regularily. In recognition of Mother's Day, which is Sunday, the theme for the meme today is pop/rock songs referencing mothers in the title or that mention mothers prominently in the lyrics.

Here is his selection, in no particular order:

1. "Mama Tried." Merle Haggard's classic hard-country song about how "Mama tried, Mama tried" to steer the young rebel away from a life of ruination and misery.

2. "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys," by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Don't let 'em pick guitars and drive them old trucks/let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such. Willie and Waylon's cautionary tale for mothers everywhere.

3. "Your Mother Should Know," by the Beatles. A song about dancing to a song "that was a hit before your mother was born."

4. "Tell Mama," by Savoy Brown. Tell Mama/And all the folks back home/Sometimes a man just feels/He's got to make it alone.

5. "Tell Mama," the Janis Joplin version. A much different tune than the Savoy Brown song. Tell your mama, babe/What you want/Tell your mama, babe...

6. Pink Floyd's "Mother". A boy asks his all-knowing, all-benevolent mother what he should do with his life, and what the world out there holds for him. Should he build a wall? Should he run for president? To which consoling Mother replies: Momma's gonna make all of your nightmares come true/Momma's gonna put all of her fears into you/Momma's gonna keep you right here under her wing/She won't let you fly, but she might let you sing. Good Mommy!

7. "Welfare Mothers," by Neil Young. According to Neil, they make better lovers. Next time you're at the laundromat, pick up what ol' Neil's putting down.

8. "Motherless Child," an old negro spiritual remade by Peter, Paul and Mary. Sometimes I feel like a motherless child/A long way from home...

9. "Motherless Child," the Eric Clapton version. Nothing like the old negro spiritual. Being a motherless child is his excuse for mistreating the "pretty mama," but he also "did more for you, girl, than your daddy ever done/Well, I give you my jelly, he ain't give you none."

10. "Mama Told Me Not to Come," by Three Dog Night. Yet another song about a young man not heeding his mother's warnings.

11. "Surrender," by Cheap Trick. A song about a boy whose parents make out on the couch, getting high and listening to his KISS records. Mommy's alright, daddy's alright/They just seem a little weird.

12. "Black Dog," by Led Zeppelin. "Mama" is mentioned in the first line: Hey, hey, mama, said the way you move/Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove. I don't think Zep's singing about Mother Dearest, though.

13. "Smoke on the Water," by Deep Purple, makes the list because of a reference to "Frank Zappa and the Mothers." Give me a break. It's tough to come up with 13 songs with "mother" in the title.

He missed "Mother" by John Lennon. Thanks Michael for the song.
Any other "Mother" songs?