Chris Lane’s ‘That’s What Mamas Are For’ is His Mother’s Day Gift to His Mom — And She Inadvertently Helped Him Write It

Chris Lane returned on Friday (May 9) with “That’s What Mamas Are For,” a tender and autobiographical tribute that also serves as his Mother’s Day gift to his mom.

The singer surprised his mother with the song shortly before releasing it, but he’d been working on the gift for quite a while. In fact, the song’s origins date back to a hometown stop on his Big, Big Plans Tour. Lane’s parents were in the audience that night, and afterward, his mom inadvertently gave him the idea for the title of “That’s What Mamas Are For.”

“My parents came out for the show, and I ended up chugging a couple beers onstage,” Lane recalled during a recent press event. “I grew up in a very strict household. My parents did not like that I [chugged those beers]. So after the show they walked up on the bus and my mom walked straight up to me, and she’s like, ‘I cannot believe you would do that onstage. I did not like that at all.’

“And I laughed and said, ‘I knew you were gonna say something about that,’” the singer continues. “And she said, ‘Well, that’s what mamas are for.’”

The conversation quickly moved on to other topics, but Lane couldn’t get that phrase out of his head. He knew it would make a good song title, so he wrote it down in his phone, taking it to a writing session with co-writers Will Bundy and Ernest Keith Smith and ultimately finished “That’s What Mamas Are For” with another in-demand Nashville songwriter, Rodney Clawson.

“I cannot wait to play this song for my mom and tell her the story,” Lane said, prior to releasing the track. “She won’t even remember that she said that to me that night. But I feel like a pretty daggone good song came out of it, so I’m gonna give it to her for Mother’s Day.”

This Mother’s Day brings new perspective for Lane, as the singer is currently getting ready to be a first-time dad. His wife, Lauren, is due to give birth to the couple’s son in June.

“As a soon-to-be dad, this Mother’s Day more than ever, I’m just so grateful for my mom and the amazing momma my wife Lauren already is to our baby boy,” he adds. “This song is to celebrate all the mommas out there. We wouldn’t be who we are today without you.”

It’s the third new song in as many weeks for Lane, who recently dropped his new single, “Fill Them Boots,” followed by another new track, “Summer Job Money.”