Mother’s Day is a day to show appreciation to the special woman who raised you. But flowers and traditional gifts aren’t the only way to show your mom you love her. Here, guitar instructor Matt. K has put together five guitar songs that are perfect to sing for your mom…
When it comes to Mother’s Day and certain holidays, sometimes us musicians can’t afford the traditional gifts, like a bouquet of flowers, but that doesn’t mean we can’t give our mothers something special.
What better way to show appreciation for mom than playing her a song? She will love it more than anything else you can give her. If you don’t end up writing your own Mother’s Day song, there are plenty of songs to choose from.
I’ve put together a list of five guitar songs. I selected from different genres, so no matter what type of music your mom is into, you’re sure to find a song that that she will love!
“Mama I’m Comin’ Home” – Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne is known for his heavy metal and his rock star antics (just search “Ozzy bat incident” on Google), but on his album “No More Tears,” Ozzy decided to slow it down and write a brilliant ballad.
Although this song is not about his actual mother, it’s still one of the best Mother’s Day songs.
Here is the tab of the intro on guitar:
e–12————–|
B—-12————|
G——–13/11–9–|
D——————|
A——————|
E—————–0|
e—0——-0——-0—–0——–0—–0——–0—–0——|
B—-0——-0——-0—–0——–0—–0——–0——0—-|
G-9——-8——8-6—–4—–4-2——1—–1—————-|
D———————————————-4——2——–|
A————————————————————–|
E————————————————————0-|
e|–0——-0——-0—–0——–0—–0——–0—–0——|
B|—-0——-0——-0—–0——–0—–0——–0—–0—-|
G|9——-8——8-6—–4—–4-2——1—–1—————-|
D|———————————————4——2——–|
A|————————————————————-|
E|———————————————————–0-|
e———-0———0——-0——-0——–0—0–0——–0—0–0|
B————–0——-0——-0——-0——–0-0—-0——–0-0—|
G——-9———8——8-6—–4——-4-2——1——1——–1—|
D———————————————————4——-2—|
A———————————————————————|
E-0——————————————————————-|
If you want to learn to play the rest of the song, you can find the tabs here.
“Mama Liked the Roses” – Elvis Presley
In 1970, the king of rock “n” roll released “Mama Liked the Roses.” It was originally released as a B-side, but charted in the top 100, and became an Elvis stand by. It’s a sad, beautiful song about his late mother.
Here are the chords for the chorus:
C Dm G7 C A7
Oh mama liked the roses she grew them in the yard
Dm E7 A7
But winter always came around and made the growing way too hard
Dm G7 C A7
Oh mama liked the roses and when she had the time
Dm E7 A7
She’d decorate the living room for all us kids to see
Click here for the rest of the chords.
“Dear Mama” – 2Pac
Tupac released “Dear Mama” as a single in 1995. The song climbed the charts quickly and is still considered one of his best songs.
It’s about his mother and his appreciation for everything she did for him, and lucky for us, it features a guitar in the hook.
The riff is below, play this along with the video.
E |————————————————–15h17-15-|
B |——————————-14————————–|
G |———–13—-x—————————————–|
D |–15h16————(16)———————————– |
A |———————————————————–|
E |———————————————————–|
“Mother” – Danzig
“Mother” by Danzig does not fit the mold of the other songs. It’s not about how much he appreciates his mom, but rather a warning to mothers about himself.
Definitely not your traditional Mother’s Day song, but it rocks, and it might be funny to play for mom!
Note: I only suggest this one if your mom likes to rock, and has a sense of humor.
Intro:
e|—————————||—————————–|
B|—————————||—————————–|
G|—————————||-o————————-o-|
D|-4——0——2——-4—||——0——–2—–4——-|
A|-2——2——0——-2—||-o—-2——–0—–2—–o-|
E|——–3——————||——3———————-|
Get the rest of the chords here.
“Dear Prudence” – The Beatles
This is not a Mother’s Day song, but it’s my mother’s favorite song, so I had to add it to the list.
It’s a beautiful song off of the White album, and if you perform it for your mother, you can’t go wrong. Almost everyone loves this song.
I’ve included the tab for the verse and you can find the rest of the song here.
e|2—— ——- ——- ——-|2—— ——- ——- ——-|
B|——————-3———–|——————-3———–|
G|————2——————|————2——————|
D|——–0—————0——|——–0—————0——|
A|0——————————|3——————————|
D|—————-0————–|—————-0————–|
e|0—— ——- ——- ——-|3—— ——- ——- ——-|
B|——————-1———–|——————-3———–|
G|———–0——————-|———–0——————-|
D|——–2—————2——|——–0—————0——|
A|3—————3————–|——————————-|
D|——————————-|5—————5————–|
Whether you’re an experienced guitarist or you just started lessons, you can take your pick from these five guitar songs and give your mom a mother’s day concert she’ll never forget!
Which guitar songs do you like to play for your family and friends? Let us know in the comments below!
Post Author: Matt K.Matthew K. teaches guitar, piano, and music theory lessons in Brooklyn, NY. He studied music composition at Mercyhurst University, and he has been teaching lessons for four years. Matthew is available to teach in-person lessons as well as online via Skype. Learn more about Matt here!
Maile Proctor