Before we learn language, we learn sound. From the clatter of utensils in the kitchen before sunrise, a half-remembered lullaby or old film songs playing softly on Sunday mornings. Somewhere in the middle of it all, a mother humming absentmindedly while carrying entire households through exhaustion without ever announcing it.
Long before we understand sacrifice, we hear it.
Music has always held motherhood in strange, intimate ways. Sometimes it appears in lyrics about protection and longing, and other times it hides inside nostalgia — car rides, cassette tapes, radio jingles or songs our mothers played so often that they quietly became part of us. Years later, a single melody can reopen entire rooms of memory.
This Mother’s Day, we asked our readers a simple question: What song would you dedicate to your mother? The responses travelled across generations, languages and genres. Some people chose vulnerable songs, while others picked tracks tied to grief, comfort, childhood or home.
From Bollywood classics and Tamil melodies to Mitski, Taylor Swift and forgotten ad jingles, here are 15 songs people are dedicating to their mothers this Mother’s Day.
- “Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai”
If I had to dedicate one song to my mother, it would always be “Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai”. Though originally written as a romantic song, its language of devotion feels deeply personal when seen through the lens of motherhood.
“Tu hi toh jannat meri, tu hi mera junoon…” For many children, mothers become the closest thing to faith itself – their protectors, anchors and people whose love feels almost sacred.
2. “Photograph”
There’s something timeless about “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran. My mother, just like others, loves collecting photographs, especially those tied to my childhood, and this song feels like a reminder that memories survive through tiny keepsakes and frozen moments.
“We keep this love in a photograph, we made these memories for ourselves…” It feels especially fitting for mothers who spend years preserving everyone else’s memories while rarely appearing at the centre of them.
3. “The Best Day”
Prof. Dr. Riddhima Bose chose “The Best Day” by Taylor Swift, a song that understands how love often lives inside ordinary moments rather than grand gestures.
“[The song] feels warm, nostalgic, and deeply personal,” she shared, “almost like flipping through old family photographs.” It moves through childhood memories, quiet reassurance, comforting conversations, and the kind of unwavering support many daughters only fully recognise as they grow older.
4. “Bohemian Rhapsody”
For Mumbai-based Hiranshi Mistry, motherhood and daughterhood exist somewhere inside vulnerability itself. She chose “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, “Mother” by Pink Floyd, “Class of 2013” by Mitski and “Maa” from Taare Zameen Par. Together, the songs form an emotional map of confusion, dependence, exhaustion and the instinctive need to return to one person when life becomes unbearable.
“When life has me down and I want to crawl to someone crying and have them take me in,” she wrote, “it’s mother.” These songs, together, feel like an emotional map of confusion, dependence, exhaustion and the instinctive need to return to one person when life becomes unbearable.
5. “Kalayil Dhinamum”
Sunitha Viswanaathan chose “Kalayil Dhinamum”, composed by A. R. Rahman. For her, the song captures a mother as “a symbol of sacrifice, love, selflessness and patience,” the kind of love that gives endlessly without asking for recognition.
6. “You and I in This Beautiful World”
Some songs become collective memory. Dr. Anushree Thareja chose the iconic 2003 Hutch advertisement jingle, “You and I in This Beautiful World.” Soft and uncomplicated, it instantly transports an entire generation back to family evenings, television nostalgia and simpler years.
7. “Afsos”
Chosen by Anjali Gurjar, the lyrics “Tee haa me dunia vekhi, tere dil nu vekh na paya…” from “Afsos” by Anuv Jain and AP Dhillon carry a quiet ache and regret. The song reflects the complicated tenderness many people feel toward their mothers as they grow older — love mixed with distance and the realisation that we often understand our mothers a little too late.
8. “Phir Aur Kya Chahiye”
Alisha Tirkey picked “Phir Aur Kya Chahiye”, a song rooted in gratitude and emotional fullness. There’s something deeply simple about dedicating a track that essentially asks: what more could one possibly need? Its central feeling mirrors motherhood itself: an invisible abundance we only learn to value with time.
9. “Yeh Bandhan Toh”
Nalini Janardhanan chose the classic “Yeh Bandhan Toh” from Karan Arjun, one of Bollywood’s most enduring songs about familial bonds. It speaks about relationships that survive distance, conflict and time, and the kind of connection motherhood often embodies most powerfully.
10. “Maa”
Sanghamitra Sengupta returned to one of Hindi cinema’s most emotionally devastating songs about motherhood: “Maa” from Taare Zameen Par. Sung from the perspective of a child missing his mother, the song transforms maternal love into refuge itself.
11. “Luka Chuppi”
Arundathy Bharadwaj chose “Luka Chuppi” by Lata Mangeshkar and A. R. Rahman, one of Indian cinema’s most haunting portrayals of grief between a mother and child. Its pain feels restrained rather than dramatic, which perhaps makes it even more devastating.
12. “Frangipani”
One of our anonymous readers, credited as Nila’s Mom, chose “Frangipani” by Kaber Vasuki — a quiet, introspective piece layered with longing, hope and care. Its emotional openness reflects the quieter side of motherhood: enduring, reflective and deeply human.
13. “Laadki”
Mumbai-based illustrator Sana Kapoor chose “Laadki”, calling it “a reminder that mothers spend their entire lives preparing us to leave while pretending it doesn’t hurt them.” Rooted in folk textures and emotional restraint, the song understands the silent heartbreak woven into parenthood and the inevitability of letting go.
14. “Dear Mama”
For one of our anonymous readers based in Kolkata, “Dear Mama” by Tupac Shakur felt painfully honest because it acknowledges motherhood not as perfection, but persistence. “My mother survived things I only understood when I grew older,” she shared, as the song remains one of music’s most raw tributes to sacrifice and resilience.
15. “Mama”
And finally, Priyashree from the USA chose “Mama” by Spice Girls that brings warmth and nostalgia to the list, celebrating all the life lessons, chaos and love that come with growing up alongside a mother.
Maybe that’s why Mother’s Day playlists matter more than we admit. They give people a language for emotions they rarely say aloud. Between old lyrics, inherited melodies, television jingles and songs replayed across generations, music often remembers what families struggle to articulate.
Somewhere between nostalgia and gratitude, these songs become archives of everything mothers leave behind in us.
Listen to the full Spotify playlist curated from reader submissions and editorial picks by Lyrical Muse this Mother’s Day.
What songs remind you of your mother? Share your own dedications, memories and favourite Mother’s Day tracks with us on Instagram and X.
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