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Included on his 2014 album Man Against Machine, this tender ode to mothers was written by Don Sampson and Wynn Varble. The song was first recorded by Bonnie Tyler and later covered by Brooks. The song centers around a conversation between an unborn child and God, in which the higher power helps calm the child’s fears about being on Earth, by telling the child about “a loving angel, tender, tough and strong,” a mother who will look after the child’s best interests.

Included on her Grammy-winning album By The Way, I Forgive You, Carlile offers up a nuanced, emotion-filled and frank look at the changes motherhood wrought, along with joys it brought. “The first things she took from me were selfishness and sleep,” she sings of being a mother to her daughter Evangeline — detailing ways being a mother demanded life shifts and certain losses, but adding, “None of that is ever who we are.” Carlile wrote the song with Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth.

Included on Gill’s 2019 album Okie, and written by Gill with Dean Dillon, “A Letter to My Mama” serves as a music-driven apology and thank you from Gill to his mother, as he apologizes for youthful indiscretions. “I’m sorry I was selfish/ Just chalk it up to youth,” he sings, and later in the song adds, “There’s no one in this world I love, like you.”

In 1968, “Mama Tried” reached the pinnacle of Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart and stayed there for four weeks. Early in his life, Haggard spent time incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, though, unlike the song’s lyrics, he was not sentenced to “life without parole.” Lyrics such as “In spite of all my Sunday learning, towards the bad I kept on turning/’Til mama couldn’t hold me anymore,” acknowledge the years his mother continued trying to keep her “one and only rebel child” on a more upstanding path.

McEntire is known for recording songs that elevate strong, hard-working women who aren’t cowed by life’s circumstances. Released in 2001, this song is an ode to persevering mothers who rise above difficult circumstances — in this case, celebrating a single mother who works two jobs in order to provide for her children. Written by Shelby Kennedy and Philip White, the song was included on McEntire’s Greatest Hits Volume III: I’m a Survivor, and a version of the song later was used as the theme song for her long-running television show Reba.

Featured on McGraw’s 2020 album Here on Earth, “I Called Mama” was written by Marv Green, Lance Miller and Jimmy Yeary. The song’s lyrics, wrapped in pedal steel and acoustic guitar, details how the unexpected passing of a close friend prompts the song’s central figure to make the most of every moment and call his mother to hear her voice and appreciate that he can still connect with her. “I Called Mama” reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.

Dolly Parton’s 1971 classic is inspired by her own childhood story of her mother generously making Parton a homemade coat, only for Parton to find that the other kids at school made fun of the multi-colored, homespun coat. Ultimately, the song’s message centers on realizing that a person’s character and pride in themselves is more important than their financial or social circumstances — and the song praises Parton’s mother for the garment and for “sewin’ every piece with love.”

This song from Swift’s Fearless album (written solo by Swift) focuses on how her mother is a constant champion, there with protection, wisdom and a positive outlook. Swift delves into how her mother was a balm for teenage uncertainty, angst and dealing with mean girls on lines such as “I don’t know who I’m gonna talk to now at school/ But I know I’m laughing on the car ride home with you.”

Released in 2010 as part of Underwood’s Play On album, “Mama’s Song” finds Underwood singing about assuring her mother that she’s met the man of her dreams. Underwood released the song shortly after she wed her husband Mike Fisher in July 2010. Underwood wrote the song with Kara DioGuardi, Marti Frederiksen and Luke Laird.

Included on Anne Wilson’s 2024 album Rebel, “Praying Woman” was written by both artists, alongside Trannie Anderson, Matthew West and Jeff Pardo. CMA and ACM entertainer of the year winner Lainey Wilson and CCM-country singer Anne Wilson sing of how the prayers of a mother serve as encouragement and comfort for her kids.