If we look back in time, what can we learn? Sure, today in 2025, there are any number of new songs coming out, swirling around you. Artists who are said to be the next big thing, songs that are supposed to blow your mind. But not everything that gets hype sticks around. Sometimes it’s better to look to the past for insight, not the present or immediate future. That’s just what we wanted to do here below.
We wanted to take a leap back into the past and examine some 70 years ago. If country songs are all about three chords and the truth, then what truths and chord combinations were happening decades back? Let’s look! Even more than that, let’s check out songs your mother would approve of. Indeed, these are three country songs from the 1950s that we know your mom would love.
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“Walkin’ After Midnight” by Patsy Cline from ‘Patsy Cline’ (1957)
Everyone likes Patsy Cline, and so everyone likes to hear her belt her song about feeling free and going out for a stroll in the late night. But what is her motive? Well, Cline is out looking for love, with the hope that the object of her affection is out there also walking after midnight looking for her, too. It’s a romantic song sung by the country star with perhaps the most beautiful singing voice ever. It’s like a romance novel moms can enjoy in a matter of minutes.
“Hey, Good Lookin’” by Hank Williams (Single, 1951)
Speaking of memorable singing voices, enter: Hank Williams with his buoyant, almost cartoonish twang. But as for this song, in particular… who doesn’t like to be complimented? If someone you thought was cool or cute called over to you and said, “Hey, good lookin’!” You’d feel pretty good about yourself, right? Well, moms feel the same way! So this song is perfect for a mom who hasn’t heard a compliment in a day or three.
“I Gotta Know” by Wanda Jackson from ‘Rockin’ With Wanda’ (1956)
Wanda Jackson was like a pizza. And every slice was a different genre that helped to make the complete picture of her sound, her art form, her brilliance. Part-rockabilly, part-rock, part-country, part-blues… There was so much to her. And that’s one of the reasons that makes her so inspiring. Her incomparable voice, her incredible delivery. Wow, this song is a hit in all hearts. Moms, especially.
Photo courtesy of Emma Lee
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LONDON – MAY 19: (L-R) English musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist George Harrison (1943-2001), English musician, singer and drummer Ringo Starr, English singer, songwriter and guitarist John Lennon (1940-1980), and English singer, songwriter and bassist Paul McCartney of the Beatles attend a press party at the home of manager Brian Epstein supporting the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, May 19, 1967 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images) -
The Beatles rehearse at the ABC Theatre, Blackpool for the group's bill-topping appearance on ABC TV's Blackpool Night Out, 1 August 1965. Left to right: George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and Ringo Starr. (Photo by Daily Mirror/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images) -
The pop group 'Pilot' pictured here beside the famous supersonic airliner Concorde at RAF Fairford near Bristol January 1975. (Photo Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Getty Images) -
UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1980: Photo of Dead Kennedys (Photo by Anne Fishbein/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
Photo by Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images -
CANADA – OCTOBER 13: It was a family affair at Massey Hall Saturday night when Kris Kristofferson and his wife Rita Coolidge brought on a deluge of applause from the 2;716 people in the audience. Peter Goddard says everyone felt a part of the process. (Photo by Ron Bull/Toronto Star via Getty Images) -
Singer Joe Strummer (1952 – 2002, left) and bassist Paul Simonon performing with British punk group The Clash, New York, September 1979. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
