8 songs about parenthood that will make you cry

Music is an important part of our favourite memories with our families. It's also such a great way to express the indescribable emotions that come along with being a parent. Here's a few of our favourite songs about parenthood that are sure to bring a tear to your eye.

1. Where You Lead – Carole King and Louise Goffin

Besides being the theme song to Gilmore Girls, a show with one of the cutest mother-daughter relationships ever, this song is also sung by a mother-daughter duo!

While the song originally appeared on Carole King's iconic Tapestry album, she decided to re-record the song with her daughter for Gilmore Girls in order to make mother-daughter love the focus of the song's message. The Grammy Award-winner and her daughter Louise Goffin’s voices blend together so well as they tell each other that:

Where you lead, I will follow

Anywhere that you tell me to

I'm not crying, you're crying!

2. There Goes My Life – Kenny Chesney

You don’t have to be a country fan to appreciate this track.

The heart-warming song tells the story of what it’s like to become a parent at a young age. The tune's protagonist progresses from an exasperated ‘Hell I'm just a kid myself’ to the realization that his daughter is the best thing that’s ever happened in his young life.

Now, will someone pass me the tissues, please? The music video has me bawling.

3. Don’t Let the Kids Win – Julia Jacklin

This incredible song by Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin is written from the perspective of a daughter. The track documents how as the musician grows up, she realizes the importance of treasuring her family, especially her parents.

These lines still have us in bits:

And don't let the time go by

Without sitting your mother down

And asking what life was like for her

Before you came to be around

And tell her it's okay if she puts herself first

Us kids we'll be alright if we're not the centre of her universe

4. In My Daughter’s Eyes – Martina McBride

This song by country music singer Martina McBride perfectly encapsulates the innocent, positive perspective our children have on life, as well as the hope that optimism gives us. Martina and her husband John McBride have three daughters, and we are sure that they see her as their hero, ‘strong and wise’.

5. Cats in the Cradle – Harry Chapin

Harry Chapin’s classic teaches a vital lesson about making time for family, no matter how busy life gets. He himself was a father-of-two, and a stepfather to three more children.

I always break down at these last few lines:

And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

6. Daughters – John Mayer

Who knew a childless rogue like John Mayer could have such insight into parenthood? The Grammy Award-winner’s song chides parents, telling them to treat their daughters well as they’ll soon be lovers and even mothers.

7. Lions and Tigers – Sleater-Kinney

Pacific Northwest indie rock darlings Sleater-Kinney may not be the first group you’d associate with parenthood, but this sweet song is a gentle departure from their usual fare. While still a bit lo-fi, the lyrics are so relatable:

I'd like to show you a million things

I'd like to make the world for you a better place

The song may be playful for the most part, talking about ants in the jungle, but also contains important lessons that a parent hopes their child will learn, like 'Please learn to rule with your head, not your fist'.

The band’s vocalist and guitarist Corin Tucker gave birth to her first child, Marshall Tucker Bangs, in 2001, a year before this track came out. Corin and her husband, filmmaker Lance Bangs, now also have a daughter, Glory, born in 2008.

8. Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder

This single from the legendary R&B singer shows him rejoicing in the birth of his daughter, Aisha. She is the eldest of his nine children.

We all remember that first moment we saw our children and fell in love, and this song captures that feeling in a nutshell. Stevie crooning these lyrics gets us every time:

Boy, I'm so happy

We have been heaven blessed

I can't believe what God has done

Through us he's given life to one

But isn't she lovely made from love

So happy I wore waterproof makeup today.

Did we miss any of your favourite songs about being a parent? Let us know!