30 Best Songs About Daughters, Father-Daughter, & Mother-Daughter Relationships

Let’s check out some of the most famous songs on daughters and their relationship with father/mother. 

1. When You Need Me – Bruce Springsteen (1998)

Let’s begin with one of the most favored songs for a father-daughter dance. A later hit by Springsteen, When You Need Me follows a simple folk song pattern.   

Melody is highlighted with a sweet guitar tune on the back and folk-style vocals. This already classic heartwarming tune is a declaration of unconditional love from a father to his daughter. 

2. Father and Daughter – Paul Simon (2002)

Cherished with a beautiful guitar hook and calm vocal of P.Simon, Father and Daughter depicts another father figure. This father, instead of promising things, tell life with each side.   

He is hopeful, yet worried as he knows that he can not make everything great for her future. A Series of advice and a hopeful sweet melody celebrate fatherly love for a daughter.

3. Promise – Tori Amos (2014)

This touching tune is one of the latest and strongest songs showing the solidarity of women as mother& daughter. The song is a complete duet where Amos sings with her daughter.  

As you might guess from the title, they promise to be there for each other in any situation. All verses are shared by two singers, just as each hardship, they promise to face together. 

4. Mama Said – The Shirelles (1961)

This early rock and roll/soul classic is an absolute feel-good tune! It is also a dance pick for many daughters and mothers during wedding ceremonies.  

An interesting take on daughter songs, the relationship here is defined by a woman who tells the problems she faced and her mother’s advice comforting her.

5. Dance with my Daughter – Jason Blaine (2015)

Father-daughter bond is told in that slow country tune is probably one of the most emotional ones. Musically, there is a simplistic melody surrounded by guitars and strong drum beats reaching a climax and tempers down.  

Father here refers to the times she will be gone in the future. He wishes to dance with the daughter until the moment they are not together anymore. 

6. It’s for my Dad – Nancy Sinatra (1977)

This glowing track affects you from the first seconds as it promises both musically and lyrically a charming experience.

Released right after the death of legendary F.Sinatra, her daughter Nancy sends her tribute with the sweetest of words.

I also like how the song musically gets bigger and bigger, from simple vocal & guitar to full orchestra.

7. Letter to my Daughter – Quando Rondo (2020)

One of the latest hits about the father-daughter relationship, that rap tune nails it when it comes to expressing love.   Somewhat poignant lyrics we get used to when a father& mother worry about the future of their child also exist here.   Yet, it is more of a declaration of eternal love upon a kicking beat and guitar arpeggios floating.

8. Daughters – John Mayer (2003)

In another track styled in blues-rock fashion, John Mayer introduces us with his velvet voice, telling how it feels to have a daughter.  

Song has this calming mood and the lyrics do not only advise things for the daughter. In fact, everyone, fathers, boys, and others have been warned to be good with their daughters now or in the future. 

9. Landslide – Fleetwood Mac (1975)

Well, some people have a hard time understanding others have an obsession with old times.

Here is a good example and the reason. Landslide is so heartwarming, such a special bond can not be expressed better than the lyrics Oh, I’m getting older too’’. Guitar arpeggios are the basis of a calm atmosphere and the daughter’s feelings.

10. First Man – Camila Cabello (2019)

A touching pop tune, First Man paints a rather realistic picture. The lyrics are descriptive and we understand that it is about a father who hasn’t always been great.

Yet we also have a daughter who questions own self and swears to the world that He is actually a good man’’. All the dramatic tension added by the piano chords fits perfectly well with Cabello’s voice. 

11. Mockingbird – Eminem (2004)

Eminem has a lot of songs on family matters. In this one dedicated to her daughters, we see a rather negative beginning. Poignant lyrics shortly turn into hopeful speeches.  

Just as many rap singers do, Eminem also mentions that his own childhood was centered on breakups and chaotic relationships with his parents.   The piano loop is like similar childhood photos from an album he looks at, also telling a brokenhearted yet bright tale. 

12. Daddy’s Little Girl – Micheal Bublé (2002)

This lullaby-like tune would directly put you into a nostalgic mood. It is also sweet and depicts a father going to be the buddy for life for his daughter.  

You’re the end of the rainbow, a pot of gold’’ is indeed a great metaphor for this retro music. The piece is set around a simple jazz guitar progression with a sweet saxophone solo. 

13. To Know him is to Love Him – Amy Winehouse (2006)

Amazing Amy Winehouse never stops surprising us after her leaving. This hidden gem is made of just her great voice with a simple guitar, yet it is an incredibly dramatic tune.

There is an ongoing melancholic mood in the song, as she seems misunderstood by her dad. Her father can’t see her love, yet one day will understand.

The song is like a little letter to eternity that makes us know today how she felt about her father. 

14. For My Daughter – Kane Brown (2018)

As you start listening to that tune, you can feel the pastoral mood surrounding you musically. Magical tale-like lyrics enter in a short while as we start hearing another father express his endless love.  

This emotional country song shares honest concerns about being a father as well.  

In the end, the song also becomes a voice for fathers feeling the same fears of their fatherhood and the unknown future of their daughters. 

15. Silver – Nirvana (1992)

How would a grunge band define fatherly love? Well, it won’t be so easy. So here we got the great vocal of K.Cobain added with an amazing guitar riff, focusing on the psychology of the kid more than anything.  

The child here stays at grandma’s house and feels bad, which might be a reflection of how Kurt felt about his own daughter F.B.Cobain. 

16. Glory – Jay-Z (2012)

A declaration and celebration of fatherhood, Jay-Z starts the song with the lyrics You’re my biggest creation’’. I don’t know if a father should define his love as such but he is indeed emotional and happy.  

The catchy tune also uses the voices of the baby Blue Ivy, from heartbeat to cry, making her the youngest person featured in a hip-hop track. 

17. Blue – Beyoncé (2014)

Just like his father Jay-Z, her mother Beyoncé also dedicated a song for the baby Blue Ivy.

This calming tune has a very chilling background and we don’t see Beyoncé push the limits of her vocal talents.  

Instead, she also sings it calmly referring to a lullaby. The core point of the song is the solidarity more than solely a simple mother-daughter relationship. 

18. My Little Girl – Tim McGraw (2006)

Composed as a film soundtrack, My Little Girl gives that early 2000s slow hit feeling. In addition to that, we witness the happiness mixed with sadness throughout the lyrics.  

Dreaming of the daughter’s possible features, the father guarantees that he will be there at every moment.  

Still a favored father-daughter dance hit, My Little Girl is one of the strongest tunes about the father-daughter bond. 

19. Daddy’s Hands – Holly Dunn (1986)

We see that country legends have a special interest when it comes to family relations.

In this 80s take, we hear the fiddle, banjos, vocals, and drums in a country style and everything you’d expect.  

Differently from other ones, the daddy here is probably one departed and the emotional aspect comes from a daughter who reminds her hands. 

20. I Learned from You – Mıley Cyrus (2006)

Another piece of music for motion pictures, this pop-rock tune is a duet between a daughter and father.

Daughter pictures a scene where there is a strong bond, sometimes shaking as the problems occur but keep going well.  

Father replies in Disney fashion, and they both show gratitude to each other, celebrating eternal love.   

21. Papa, Can You Hear Me? – Barbara Streisand (1984)

Here is a lament for a father gone, this one is probably the most touching song among all about the father-daughter bond.  

Nominated to the Oscars for best music for a motion picture, Streisand’s performance is phenomenal.

Accompanied by a large orchestra, the daughter in a heavy need of her father calls her as she prays. 

22. Mama – Spice Girls (1996)

Did you know that the legendary girl pop band of the 90s also touched on the topic? In this lesser-known hit of the Spice Girls, you can sing an uplifting song while you celebrate your love for your mother.  

Lyrics tell a storyline beginning from adolescence. They’ve been bad at first, yet they both learned and the daughter realized that everything was for her own good. 

23. Gracie – Ben Folds (2006)

This sweet tune begins to warm your heart from the first second. Set upon a child-like piano tune added with a cello, Folds sets up the lyrics in a humorous manner mixed with emotional lines.  

Surely a great gift for a loved daughter from a father. 

24. You Can’t Lose Me – Faith Hill (1995)

Another country-pop hit from the 90s expresses motherly love for a daughter. A classic pop tune would give you a retro feeling, the song is about a mother despite any trouble surrounding her promising her daughter to protect her.  

You Can’t Lose Me here is the keyword for that, gives a kind of a trust nobody but a mother can only give. 

25. The Best Day – Taylor Swift (2008)

As I can see, even the non-country singers released their songs in country style when it is about love for family.

Probably the lyrical narrative fits well with the simplistic pure nature of the country style, as in this song.  

She glorifies her mother for being for her all time, which is true as we know that her mother even joins each concert tour of Swift. 

26. Lullabye – Billy Joel (1993)

Its melody is based on a religious chant, Lullaby of Billy Joel is like a prayer mixed with a lullaby.  

The sweet progression of the piano and his calming voice calling the daughter as an angel, Lullabye is indeed bringing tears to eyes. 

27. Slipping Through My Fingers – ABBA (1981) 

A hidden gem from ABBA, Slipping Through My Fingers is a great mother-daughter song that includes an honest regret for the passing time.  

It is surely the time slipping from her fingers, as her daughter grows up, she remembers earlier times.

Music is plain, yet in a few minutes, the orchestra enters and colors the whole space. 

28. Oh Mother – Christina Aguilera (2006)

In this pop ballad for piano, we witness a whole different story. Aguilera is talking openly about her abusive childhood caused by her father.  

Opposite to other songs on the list, this time it is the grown-up daughter showing the way to her mother.  

Giving her courage to not look back and telling her that they are stronger together, this touching tune is surely a good example of mother-daughter solidarity. 

29. Sweet Child of Mine – Guns and Roses (1987)

What makes this song so special? Endless sweetness, we get from a hard rock song as we hear the famous guitar riff or the lyrics?  

Sweet Child of Mine is legendary as it is one of the few examples where fatherly love feelings reflected this good both musically and lyrically. 

30. Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder (1976)

Feel good, celebrate, dance and smile without any help. That’s the definition of this incredible soul hit from the amazing Steve Wonder.  

Here, the birth of a daughter is cherished in the most naive and fun way. S.Wonder asks for our approval to believe his own eyes, Isn’t She Lovely, isn’t she great, boy I’m so happy’’

Final Note

Here we are at the end of our list. We’ve seen tunes on the happiness of having a daughter, pointing out women’s solidarity aspect, giving trust and courage for the future.  

As each artist shared their private space with us, we associated those eternal melodies with our lives.  

Their songs turned into ours and we shared them with our parents or another way around. This is the greatest thing, after all, celebrating such love with great songs. Hope to see you again on the next list!  

John Godfrey

John Godfrey is a music fanatic, as well as the owner of Songpier.com which provides music guides. In high school, he learned how to play the drums which inspired him to learn about rock music. He began to write articles for various music magazines and during this period he realized he had a passion for writing music descriptions. He has a Master's degree in music education from the University of Redlands.

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