Mockingbird

"Mockingbird" is Eminem's love song for his daughter Hailie Jade and his niece whom he adopted, Lainie. Eminem began his often tumultuous relationship with Hailie Jade's mother Kim in 1989 and married her a decade later when Hailie was three. They divorced two years later. Here, he acknowledges how hard it's been for the two little girls growing up in difficult circumstances with a famous father who is frequently traveling and a mother with drug issues. And you and Lainie were too young to understand it Papa was a rolling stone, Momma developed a habit And it all happened too fast for either one of us to grab it I'm just sorry you were there and had to witness it first-hand

Eminem sings the chorus to the tune of the traditional "Mockingbird" lullaby. Sometimes known as "Hush Little Baby," the American folk song originated from the Southern United States. The lullaby soothes infants to sleep with promises of expensive gifts, including a mockingbird, which were often kept as pets in America. Eminem is assuring Hailie, that, despite all the turmoil, "Everything's gonna be alright", because her father is there. Now hush, little baby, don't you cry Everything's gonna be alright Stiffen that upper lip up, little lady, I told ya Daddy's here to hold ya through the night

Most of "Mockingbird" is a rare gentle Eminem song with no cussing or cruel rhymes, but at the end, he can't resist cracking a final joke about wringing the mockingbird's neck. And on the very last line, Em directs the F-word at all those haters who want to put him and his girls down.