5 Top Songs about Abusive Mothers

Songs about Abusive Mothers

The issue of abusive mothers is widespread and exists in every society. When you trace these violent behaviours, you’ll see that there are triggers that cause them to engage in these inhumane treatments of their children. Mothers are nature’s own extension of love, care and compassion.

They lift you when you’re down, encourage you when you’ve got no will to continue, and wipe your tears when you cry. Indeed, the need for a mother’s love is unfathomable. However, when a mother deviates from this, it means there’s something unnatural about it. Could be sickness, fear, despair or anger.

These reckless behaviours stem from long-buried but strong emotions in a way that when anything triggers it, they act without reason. The effects of these abusive behaviours on these kids are pronounced and affect their lives significantly in the future.

Songwriters too are not new to this experience, some have had a firsthand experience from their parents or a close relative or friends. I’ve made a comprehensive list of songs about abusive mothers and it’s my sincerest hope these kids find the love they deserve. Enjoy!

1. “Mother Knows Best” by Donna Murphy

Donna Murphy’s “Mother Knows Best” is almost certainly going to be the first song that comes to anyone’s mind when they are asked to mention songs about abusive mothers.

This is yet another case of manipulation, deceit and lies from a mother in an animated movie – Rapunzel. The title is rather not new and it’s a widespread fact.

The common belief is that mothers know best and as such, they make the best decisions for us. So, it’s not surprising to see why the little girl in this song was taken advantage of and misled. The song “Mother Knows Best” is sung by Mother Gothel, the villain, immediately after Rapunzel asks to see the floating lights for her eighteenth birthday.

This song illustrates the deceptive strategies that Mother Gothel employs to convince Rapunzel that the only place she can feel secure is up in the tower with her mother, even though the listeners are aware of the nefarious reasons that Gothel has for keeping Rapunzel there. Mother Gothel sings it to Rapunzel as she tries to persuade her to put her faith in her judgement and to never make an attempt to leave her.

2. “Because Of You” by Kelly Clarkson

When Clarkson was only 16 years old, she penned this beautiful song about the breakup of her parent’s marriage. “Because Of You” is directed towards her mother for how little she cared for her or tried to show love towards her after the divorce.

Kelly was only 6 years old then, so you can imagine how difficult it’ll be for a child to live through all that by herself. Because her mother was so preoccupied after the divorce, little Kelly was responsible for preparing her own meals and doing most other things herself.

Clarkson expresses in the song how she is trying not to make the same mistakes that her parents did and how, as a result of her parent’s divorce, she is afraid to fall in love because she doesn’t want to go through the same suffering that her parents experienced.

In another way, when you’ve gone past a really bad experience, you won’t want your children to experience that. So, Kelly might also not want this for herself but also her children. Knowing how difficult it was to survive through all that, she wouldn’t want to put her children in a similar situation.

She goes on to criticise both of her parents for being self-centred and for not taking into account how their separation might have made her feel. Kelly concludes by expressing that as a result of this, she has suffered emotional trauma and will need to continue to be overprotective of herself to avoid being injured emotionally by another person.

3. “Down With The Sickness” by Disturbed

Lyrically, “Down With The Sickness” by Disturbed is one of the best songs about abusive mothers. The song begins with a small boy who is forced to kneel by his oppressor; who appears to be his own mother and treats him unjustly as if he was a mere servant; even servants aren’t treated this way these days.

The overarching theme of this song is the rage and anger that burns within him. You could feel his rage from the lyrics. He expresses the cruelty of his mom and alludes her to being sick. As noted earlier, the effects of this abuse don’t just end with the mother, it continues with the little one and affects their temperament.

Towards the end of the song, the narrator declares that he has been down with the sickness; hence the title of the song. It simply suggests that from his mother’s unfair treatment towards him, she has finally turned him into a monster against his will

4. “Problem Child” by 50 Cent

This song skyrocketed to the top of the charts in 2002, and the accompanying music video left many viewers feeling uneasy. In addition to this, it came about after his mother had sued him and won the enormous amount of $1,600 in “damages.” It shows Eminem lashing out at his mother, Debbie Mathers, and expressing his frustration with her for the way she brought him up.

Nevertheless, there are a few elements that contribute to this song’s increased emotional impact. First, Eminem addresses the allegations that he writes songs about his mother solely to increase record sales.

Two, he demonstrates the desire to be a more responsible parent to his kid and to protect her from being subjected to that kind of toxicity he received from his mother.

5. “How Could You Leave Us” by NF

This song has a lot of feeling put into it. It focuses on Nate’s mother and her struggle with drug addiction. The lyrics of his song explain how he beats himself up over the fact that he did not call her or try to stop her from engaging in this behaviour that led her to lose her life .

Additionally, he discusses the fact that she was never there for him since she was always too preoccupied with her drug use. This song has multiple messages, the first is his regret, anger and hatred towards himself for not having tried to stop her from this.

The second is his mother’s careless demeanour toward him. He and his siblings never saw any signs of affection or concern from her.