Song for mother-son dance?

June 23, 2009 8:29 AM

Looking for a mother-son dance song for my wedding.

Mom's a boomer and LOVED the Beatles when she was a little girl, so I was thinking that early Beatles would be perfect. But other stuff from the era -- I know she likes Aretha Franklin, for instance -- would also be acceptable. The trick is, obviously I want to avoid stuff with lyrics that smack of romantic (even if squeaky clean, geared-to-screaming-13-year-old-girls) love.

Thoughts?

posted by condour75 to media & arts (16 comments total)

John Lennon - Beautiful Boy?
posted by Jon_Evil at 8:34 AM on June 23 [2 favorites has favorites]

Also, directly afterwards you should [tounge-in-cheekly] play the Beatles' Another Girl
posted by Jon_Evil at 8:35 AM on June 23

Mother Nature's Son? (Holy crap. Going through my Beatles playlist, and Another Girl came up. That'd be really messed up as a mother/son dance son. But funny.)
posted by mollymayhem at 8:42 AM on June 23

Awww, burned on the Another Girl. Should have previewed.

On a modern note, Devil Makes Three's For My Family would be a lovely mother/son dance song.
posted by mollymayhem at 8:46 AM on June 23

I'm Happy Just to Dance With You?
posted by moxiedoll at 8:48 AM on June 23

this is sort of my go-to "awesome mom" song, and it alludes to having a good father too (don't know if that works..?) but:

Good Mother by Jann Arden. a good 'tribute' song.
posted by gursky at 8:55 AM on June 23

Forever Young.

Not Beatles but may be a nice tune.
posted by Lord Fancy Pants at 8:57 AM on June 23

I danced with my mom at my wedding to "In My Life" off Rubber Soul. So there's that.
posted by GamblingBlues at 9:04 AM on June 23 [2 favorites has favorites]

I also danced to "In My Life" with my mother, at her request. Definitely feel free to use it, unless your mom reads AskMe, she's not going to know you cribbed off me and GamblingBlues.
posted by explosion at 9:47 AM on June 23

From Magical Mystery Tour - Your Mother Should Know

Let's all get up and dance to a song
That was a hit before your mother was born.
Though she was born a long, long time ago
Your mother should know...
posted by SurrenderMonkey at 9:54 AM on June 23

I came here to suggest In My Life, too! It's a great song.
posted by Cygnet at 9:54 AM on June 23

"Peanut Butter Jelly Time" by Buckwheat Boyz.
posted by That takes balls. at 10:15 AM on June 23

Thanks everyone! I think "In My Life" is it, although Forever Young (by Dylan, not the Rod Stewart song) seems like a good choice too. But "In My Life", even though it's from late '65, fits the bill the best by far. (I'm not entirely crazy about the camp harpsichord bridge but whatever, every rose has its thorn)

I'll ask mom, of course.
posted by condour75 at 10:22 AM on June 23

Most memorable dance with my mother, at my graduation, was "What a Wonderful World," Louis Armstrong.
posted by liquado at 11:49 AM on June 23

The "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" song by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole seems to have been trailing me since my son was in preschool (he's now 12). It makes me weep, in a good way. It's lovely, it's not too slow, not too fast, and it's ridiculously sentimental. Not from the era, but I thought another mom's perspective might be nice.

And, can I just say? How wonderful that you are looking for the song. So many grooms leave it for the bride to decide.
posted by cooker girl at 2:30 PM on June 23

If your mother is a big fan of the Beatles, then "Julia" might be extra-meaningful to her, since Lennon wrote it for his mother.
However, while it is haunting and beautiful, it might be a bad song for actual dancing.
posted by Brody's chum at 4:02 PM on June 23