Mother, There's No Other

A Celtic song for Mother's Day! It was only a matter of time, right? This song is a bit more lighthearted than some of John's other Celtic arrangements. It still uses penny whistle, fiddle, and bodhran, and it still has a lilt to it, but it is less intense and drum-heavy than some others. And it's downright happy.

There are four verses to this song, although technically only three of them have different lyrics from each other because the fourth verse recaps the first verse and goes to the coda. That said, it is a wordy song. Moms wear so many hats (nurse, chauffeur, laundry attendant, etc.), so it feels very appropriate to praise the lady who does so much for us.

Don't let the modulation in the second bar of the coda throw your singers – it just steps up for the one bar to a Bb, C progression, then back down to where they were to finish the song.

In performance, singing this song to an audience of moms would be a lovely way for your class to celebrate Mother's Day. Perhaps pair this song with other mom tribute songs – Plank Road has published a few over the years. (Visit MusicK8.com and check out the Magazine Index under the drop-down menu at the top of the home page.)

Our session players did a fabulous job on the Performance/Accompaniment recording (as always). It features Sandy Williams on acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, mandolin, and a nylon guitar melody. Our fiddle player was Kara Day, and on penny whistle was Greg Imboden.