The birth of Blue Ivy Carter to Beyoncé and Jay-Z last week has prompted her father to release a new track in her honour, the rather unassumingly named Glory. A celebration of the awe and joy of new parenthood that arguably teeters on the edge of toe-curlingness, it pays tribute not just to his daughter but also to his wife.
The revelation of parenthood has, of course, inspired numerous works through the ages: consider Damien Hirst's photo-realist painting of the caesarean birth of his son, or the photographer Elinor Carucci's astounding Born project, in which she charted her pregnancy and the birth of her twins – or Blake's Infant Joy, or Sylvia Plath's Morning Song: "Love set you going like a fat gold watch./ The midwife slapped your footsoles, and your bald cry/ Took its place among the elements."
Popular music's take on parenthood is a little more slippery. Much of this is perhaps due to rock'n'roll's uneasy relationship with domesticity. Pregnancies as told in song are often unplanned – as in Bruce Springsteen's The River, for example, or Kings of Leon's Knocked Up, in which the expectant mother and father are ill-advisedly "taking off in a Coupe de Ville/ She's buckled up on navy".
References to parenthood (and they seem to be most often fatherhood) are more common later in a child's development: Paul Simon's nine year old "travelling companion" in Graceland; the "darling Sean", dreaming of monsters, in John Lennon's Beautiful Boy; or Dylan's Forever Young, in which he wishes: "May you grow up to be righteous/ May you grow up to be true."
But there is something about those very early songs, composed in the glow of a newborn, that is indisputably cockle-warming – syrupy, yes, perhaps even a little silly, but something rather wonderful, too, as songwriters attempt to capture their sense of wonder. Here are some of the standouts.
Jay-Z – Glory
Jay-Z's tribute to baby Blue, born in New York on 7 January, details an earlier miscarriage, describes his new daughter as "the most beautifullest thing in this world" and samples her infant squalling. If it appears a little dashed-off, well, that's surely part of its charm. It is in essence the sound of a new father quite delirious with happiness, rather than an assertion of his powers as the king of hip-hop.
Sentimentality rating, out of 10: 10
Longevity rating, out of 10: 5
David Bowie – Kooks
Bowie was allegedly at home listening to a Neil Young record when he received news of the birth of his son, Duncan (or Zowie), and set about writing this Youngesque tribute to the newborn. Later appearing on 1971's Hunky Dory, it is a faintly odd appeal for the child to stay with his "kooky" parents, advice on how to deal with bullies and people who pick on you, as well as promises of trumpets, cribs and throwing homework on to the fire.
Sentimentality rating: 6
Longevity rating: 7
Radiohead – Sail to the Moon
It was the birth of Thom Yorke's son Noah that inspired this track from Hail to the Thief, and Yorke has spoken of how fatherhood has affected his songwriting – encouraging him to voice his unease at social injustice and our responsibility to future generations. This is a rather lovely lullaby that speculates on whether his son might grow up to be president, "but know right from wrong". Alternatively, in a nod to the child's name, he wonders if he might build an ark and "sail us to the moon".
Sentimentality rating: 6
Longevity rating: 9
Lauryn Hill – To Zion
In 1997, Hill released her solo debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill; one of the standout tracks was this tribute to her son. Zion was her first child, and many had encouraged her not to go through with the pregnancy, lest it affect her blossoming success: "Everybody told me to be smart/ Look at your career they said/ 'Lauryn baby, use your head'/ But instead I chose to use my heart." Hill paints a moving image of strength, defiance and the intense love of a new mother: "Now the joy of my world is in Zion".
Sentimentality rating: 9
Longevity rating: 8
Loudon Wainwright III – Rufus Is a Tit Man
Wainwright wrote several songs inspired by his young children, Martha and Rufus – who would both grow up to be songwriters themselves. This unsettling track conveys his unresolved relationship with his new son, and the shift in his relationship with his wife, as her breasts suddenly seem to belong to another male. "I envy you," he admits, before suggesting a curious solution: "So put Rufus on the left one/ And put me on the right/ And like Romulus and Remus/ We'll suck all night."
Sentimentality rating: 1
Longevity rating: 6
Ben Folds – Gracie
Ben Folds's twins were born in the summer of 1999. His son Louis inspired the track Still Fighting It, in which he details the simple pain of growing up and apologises for the fact that "you're so much like me/ I'm sorry". Daughter Gracie, meanwhile, prompted this softer tribute about the special relationship between parent and newborn: "And there will always be a part of me/ Nobody else is ever gonna see but you and me/ My little girl/ My Gracie girl."
Sentimentality rating: 8
Longevity rating: 7
Stevie Wonder – Isn't She Lovely
Schmaltzy, a little sickly-sweet, but still irresistibly charming, this is almost the blueprint for Jay-Z's recent homage to fatherhood. Wonder wrote this track to mark the birth of his daughter Aisha in 1975 to then-partner Yolanda Simmons. It opens with the baby's early cries, ends with the sound of her playing, and in between pays tribute to what we might broadly term her "precious loveliness". "Less than one minute old," he coos, "I never thought through love we'd be making/ One as lovely as she."
Sentimentality rating: 10
Longevity rating: 10