I Love My Mom

by Teresa Jennings

Want to make all the moms in your audience smile or tear up? Be sure to include this sweet little tune in your program. Definitely a song suitable for Mother's Day, it might also be a good tune to adapt for Father's Day as well (changing the lyrics accordingly, of course).

We have suggested that the first time through, the melody is sung by a soloist. Then on the repeat, the chorus sings in unison. If you want to use a soloist, but you don't have someone who can do the whole verse alone, or if you want to share the spotlight, use more than one. Just divide it into sections as needed.

Though this song is easy enough for young children to sing, it could be used with older singers as well, especially if you add sign language. We have included the signs on the lyric sheet on page 33. You can use all of them, or you can select key words and only sign those. (This might be easier for younger performers.) At the end of the song at measure 21, have students, or even just your soloist(s), sign the last phrase again while the accompaniment concludes: But she is always right here in my heart.

This is another tune that could be played on piano in a live performance. However, the violin melody/countermelody would also need to be played for the full effect. It is cued on the piano/vocal.

A note about our soloist: This was the debut performance of then seven-year-old Sofia Rose Riggio. For those of you who have been with us a while, perhaps you will remember seeing her baby picture in Music K-8 the year she was born, 1998. She is Teresa's niece, and she was born the same month as the Big Flood of '98. (See Volume 9, Number 2 for all the details of that story, if you're interested.) At that time, Sofia was a ray of sunshine in an otherwise bleak year. Needless to say, as far as Teresa is concerned, she still is.

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.