10 songs that feel like Mama Tried
Matched to Mama Tried by Merle Haggard on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.
A 95% feel-match — carries the same nostalgic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (22/100).
95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (20/100). Same smooth texture.
Keeps the same nostalgic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (20/100). Measured 95% alike.
Measures 95% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (20/100). Same smooth texture.
A 95% feel-match — carries the same nostalgic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (22/100).
95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it sits a little calmer at 19/100. Same smooth texture.
Keeps the same nostalgic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (23/100). Measured 97% alike.
Measures 97% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (23/100). Same smooth texture.
A 94% feel-match — carries the same nostalgic pull and sits a little calmer at 19/100.
94% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it sits a little calmer at 19/100. Same smooth texture.
Frequently asked
What songs sound like “Mama Tried” by Merle Haggard?
The closest feel-matches we measure are “Lonesome Tears” by Buddy Holly, “Cornerstone” by Arctic Monkeys, “Two Ghosts” by Harry Styles — the top match scores 95% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.
How intense is “Mama Tried”?
It measures 25/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 5/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Tempo is 135 BPM.
How do you decide which songs are similar?
Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.
By the numbers: how this song compares
Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.
Where it sits in 19,000 songs
This sits near the calm end of everything we've measured — gentler than 84% of the 19,209 songs in the library. Its intensity reading of 25/100 comes from a dynamic range of 5/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.
What makes it unusual
What stands out most about this song is a fast, driving tempo: more extreme on that axis than 89% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.
Feels almost identical to
Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.
What it’s good for
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
1968 in context
The 182 songs we’ve measured from 1968 average a dynamic range of 6.1/10. At 5/10, this track is gentler and steadier than its year.
Mixes smoothly with
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?
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