“The Mother” by Brandi Carlile Will Make You Value Parenthood Even More

It’s pretty impossible to imagine the love of a mother for her child until you go through it firsthand – and “The Mother” by Brandi Carlile knows just that!

Carlile wrote the song after she and her wife, Catherine Shepherd, welcomed into the world their first child – baby girl Evangeline Ruth Carlile. 

RELATED: Brandi Carlile and wife Catherine Shepherd Love Story

In the song, the Washington state songwriter paid tribute to her daughter as well as the exciting experiences of being a first-time mom. She gets candid about motherhood, singing like how “selfishness and sleep” were the first things taken from her – yet, in the end, Brandi Carlile knows that it’s all part of the adventure. 

Though some might consider motherhood as “the realization of their most sacred dreams,” while others might find the “sacrifices to be a bit too much to bear,” – Carlile explained that to her, “it’s equal measures of both. I am not just a mother, but it’s all that I am.”

Without a doubt, this is one of the most moving Brandi Carlile songs ever to hit the radio. It also comes with a music video that was released ahead of the Mother’s Day holiday. The short clip further highlights the joys and rigors of motherhood as it follows a different group of mothers with one thing in common: a relentless dedication to provide and take care of their children. 

There are scenes of women making breakfast, putting their kids to bed, breastfeeding, and other things that show the devotion motherhood comes with. The final shot reveals one of the mothers waking up in the early morning hours to do it all over again.

“The Mother” appears on Carlile’s sixth studio album, By the Way, I Forgive You, which won a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album and earned a nomination for Album of the Year. 

You can listen to Brandi Carlile’s “The Mother” in the video below.