In celebration of Mother’s Day this Sunday, we decided that our mums deserved celebrating with more than just presents – in the form of songs too.

‘The Best Day’ – Taylor Swift

This song really is a classic when it comes to mum tributes. It reminds me just how lucky I am to have every day I have with my mum. Fearless was my first Taylor Swift album, and it was my mum that introduced me, as she has to so many other great artists. With mine and Swift’s relationships with our mothers being incredibly similar, I’ve always found her songs on the topic (including the newest, ‘Soon You’ll Get Better’) to be some of the hardest to listen to, but also some of my all-time favourites. A quintessential Taylor-esque ballad, this always plays in my mind on the drive home from our spontaneous days out.

‘everything i wanted’- Billie Eilish

It’s less that my mum is so special she deserves two songs, and more that I inherited her classic indecisive nature. Written as a tribute to her brother, this Billie Eilish song is by far my favourite because of the raw talent and emotions that spews through your headphones. Her at her best, stripped back and soulful, ‘everything i wanted’ describes a bond like no other. Whether you feel homesick for your mum or for another member of your (chosen) family, this is the song that sums it up for me; like the hug you get your first time going home from uni. This song reminds me that as long as I have my mum, nothing else really matters, and I’m incredibly lucky to have a relationship with her that’s as close as Billie and Finneas.

Lizzie Wright

‘Wake Me up Before You Go-Go’ – Wham!

I’m well aware that this perhaps doesn’t stand out as having meaningful, deep lyrics about motherly bonds but no song reminds me of my mum more. It completely epitomises kitchen dance parties and car singalongs and just like my mum herself, has the capacity to cheer you up even when you’re as down in the dumps as you possibly can be. It also stands to testify how similar we are considering my mum’s Wham! obsession in her teens was enough to rival my own love for One Direction – it’s absolutely pure sunshine in song form, so it’s definitely fitting for my mum. Every single time I hear that opening ‘Jitterbug’, I’m instantly ready to get the dodgy dance moves out – turns out we don’t just share a penchant for cheesy 80s hits, but those too, thanks Tracie.

Neive McCarthy

‘Bird Cage Walk (Doing The)’ – Jools Holland

Some of my earliest memories of music are of my mum, a piano teacher, playing this song. I had great fun listening to it as a kid – I remember hearing the first few bars and barrelling down the stairs to watch her play it. I’d stare at her hands, amazed by how fast they were moving, and I’d dance, because those honky-tonk chords and that crazy blues melody made me want to move so much! Listening to this song now takes me back to a time when things were simpler, for both of us. The joy of music is one of the greatest things you can give to someone; especially in these trying times, I am lucky my mum was there to give it.
Euan Ridley

‘Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes’ – Paul Simon

Whilst everyone else was listening to Radio 1 on the way to school, my lovely mother was unknowingly igniting my undying love for the one and only Paul Simon. We used to play his Graceland album on REPEAT and this song always reminds me of the calm in between morning rushes and a sing along amidst the painful school traffic. So shout out to Irene for her impeccable music taste (most of the time) and introducing me to one of the best albums to ever exist.

Andrea Loftus

I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing’- Aerosmith & ‘Angels’- Robbie Williams 

When I was thinking about a song that reminded me of my mum it was hard to pick just one, because as my mum knows I’m very indecisive. However, I did manage to narrow it down to two! My mum loves films, and loves to re-watch them too, two of those films includes Armageddon and Pearl Harbor. ‘I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing’ was written for Armageddon, and therefore whenever I hear it, I’m instantly transported to duvet days watching films with mum. I considered choosing a Take That song, because they’re my mum’s favourite band, but it was Robbie Williams’ solo song ‘Angels’ that really brought her into my mind. Although it is a love song about romantic love, I think it can apply to other types of love, like mother and daughter. Particularly the lines “And through it all she offers me protection/ A lot of love and affection/ Whether I’m right or wrong” which brings a tear to my eye. Happy Mother’s Day! I love you mum x

Anushka Searle