Comments on: Daddy Music

Question: Daddy Music

brozek — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:00:44 -0800

If you don't enjoy country music, do hip, relatively new songs exist about fatherhood, or more specifically, fathers and daughters?

Google finds me pages and pages of overemotional wedding dance music, and almost everything I've heard reminds me of the awful Daddy's Hands. Paul Simon's Father & Daughter is a good start, but there have to be enough other non-schmaltzy, non-country tracks to fill a mix CD, right?

By: wabbittwax

wabbittwax — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:10:28 -0800

Mark Knopfler had a song called "All That Matters" on his album, "Shangri-La", it's more generally a lullaby type thing to both genders, but it starts as "My darling girl" so it sort of fits.

By: donajo

donajo — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:16:45 -0800

There is Loudon Wainwright's "Daughter".

By: thirteenkiller

thirteenkiller — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:20:00 -0800

Eminem has songs about being a father.

By: kitty teeth

kitty teeth — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:26:40 -0800

"I Love My Daddy" by Electrocute.

By: joannemerriam

joannemerriam — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:37:44 -0800

Ben Folds "Gracie" ("You can't fool me, I saw you when you came out/ You got your momma's taste but you got my mouth")

By: SuperSquirrel

SuperSquirrel — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:09:20 -0800

If you're looking for irony + humor - schmaltz, John Hiatt is your man on any topic! He's sometime lumped in with country stuff, but he is so not Top 40 country. The songs listed below are pretty old, but hold up well (IMO).

"Your Dad Did" from Bring the Family (about becoming your dad)
"Georgia Rae" from Slow Turning (about his daughter)
"The Wreck of the Barbie Ferrari" from Perfectly Good Guitar (not really uplifting, but funny)

You can listen here. (Poor navigation - click on Discography, then Songlist / Lyrics, then All Songs.)

By: j-dawg

j-dawg — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:14:13 -0800

Tough question! But a couple ideas, some of which may violate country or schmaltz guidelines:

"Dancing on Daddy's Shoes" by Leon Redbone.

"September When It Comes" by Roseanne Cash with Johnny Cash (only sort of a father-daughter song topic-wise).

"Texas Girl at the Funeral of Her Father" by Randy Newman.

"Tenderness on the Block" by Warren Zevon.

And possibly the biggest stretch of all, "Miss Fortune" by John Wesley Harding.

By: JustKeepSwimming

JustKeepSwimming — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:29:26 -0800

Winter by Tori Amos

By: geeky

geeky — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:04:03 -0800

Ben Folds also has "Still Fighting it", though that specifically mentions a son instead of a daughter.

By: scody

scody — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:47:40 -0800

"Sweet Pea, My Sweet Pea" by Paul Weller (specifically about his eldest daughter, Leah) -- not schmaltzy, just very sweet and jaunty.

By: quarterframer

quarterframer — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:50:39 -0800

2nding a Loudon Wainwright III direction. He has lots of songs about his kids (Rufus and Martha et al).

"Hitting You" will break your heart and has an absolute zero schmaltz factor.

I understand your country reticence, but that's a huge cut to make if you want concise, sincere, well-written relationship songs...

By: amyms

amyms — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:59:13 -0800

Billy Joel's Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) was written for his daughter.

By: ludwig_van

ludwig_van — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:15:36 -0800

"Wonder" by Colin Meloy is about having a child. I think it's only available on his live tour EP.

By: saradarlin

saradarlin — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:32:20 -0800

John Mayer - "Daughters"

By: 912 Greens

912 Greens — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:33:27 -0800

"Dad's Yard" by Catie Curtis might work. Also, "Raina" by Peter Himmelman.

By: Squeak Attack

Squeak Attack — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:41:23 -0800

Anthony (Stewart) Head has an song called "Babies [the in between]" that's about missing his daughters while he lived in the US filming "Buffy."

By: jasbet07

jasbet07 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:18:08 -0800

Two great songs from daughter's perspective about learning how and why to forgive:

"Hurt" by Christina Aguilera
"Angry Anymore" by Ani DiFranco

Gorgeous (not hokey) song/lullabye from perspective of father about being there for a child:

"Cody's Song" by Kenny Loggins

By: Madamina

Madamina — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:24:39 -0800

Can't believe nobody's mentioned "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder (though it's quite old).

By: jferg

jferg — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:49:45 -0800

Everclear, "Annabella's Song"
The others that come to mind immediately have been listed already.

By: abcde

abcde — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:55:04 -0800

Radiohead - Sail to the Moon is somewhat abstract, but very pretty, and clearly written for Yorke's son (whose name is Noah--that makes sense of one of the lines).

By: box

box — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:15:04 -0800

Will Smith's 'Just the Two of Us' is about the father/son relationship. And most of Common's albums feature 'Pop's Rap' songs. And, just to hit the hip-hop trifecta, Ed OG and da Bulldogs' 'Be A Father To Your Child' is a stone classic.

By: corey flood

corey flood — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:21:38 -0800

Paul Simon - "Father and Daughter"

By: shothotbot

shothotbot — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:57:55 -0800

Greg Brown - Daughters (he's not rich, but he's rich in daughters, as I recall)

By: nameless.k

nameless.k — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:20:30 -0800

"In Her Music Box" by Atmosphere

By: Pinback

Pinback — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:20:17 -0800

"She's Trying" by Dance Hall Crashers is a punk/pop/ska song about fathers letting go of daughters leaving home. The live version, far superior (as is most ska-stuff) to the album version, is available on iTunes.

By: lillygog

lillygog — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:11:08 -0800

It has a bit of profanity, but I think The Coup's Wear Clean Draws is one of the most touching father-daughter songs ever. It just seems so focused on a father wanting his daughter to grow up confident and strong. This link auto-plays the song.

By: bubukaba

bubukaba — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:22:42 -0800

Not daughter-specific, but Pink and Blue by The Mountain Goats is a nice daddy song.

By: brozek

brozek — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:05:14 -0800

Wow - thanks for the awesome responses! I know (nearly) all these artists, but apparently not the depth of their catalogues!

By: gursky

gursky — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:15:04 -0800

i'm surprised no one mentioned this, but "heaven" by Live.

(i don't need no one
to tell me about heaven,
i look at my daughter
and i believe)

By: micayetoca

micayetoca — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:53:39 -0800

You don't need to go far. Mefi's chococat has written (and posted) some great songs about his daughters: You're just new, Lily, and 5. Those links go to the posts at Metafilter Music and, in case you haven't gone there before, you can download those songs there.

By: premortem

premortem — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:29:25 -0800

Grateful Dead's "I Will Take You Home"

Lyrics By: Brent Mydland
Music By: Brent Mydland

Little girl lost in a forest of dreams
It's a dark old wood, and it's damp with dew
Hoot owl hoots, for a moment it seems
Something big and cold got a hold of you
Just when everything gets scary
Daddy's coming round for his darling again
Hold my hand with your little fingers
Daddy's loving arms gonna gather you in

Ain't no way the Bogeyman can get you
You can close your eyes, the world is gonna let you
Your daddy's here and never will forget you
I will take you home
I will take you home
Gonna carry you back home in my arms
I will take you home

Long is the road we must travel on down
Short are the legs that will struggle behind
I wish I knew for sure just where we're bound
What we will be doing, and what we're gonna find
Wherever we go, there will be birds to cheer you
Flowers to color in the fields around
Wherever we go, I'll be right here near you
You can't get lost when you're always found

Ain't no fog that's thick enough to hide you
Your daddy's gonna be right here beside you
If your fears should start to get inside you
I will take you home
I will take you home
Gonna carry you back home in my arms
I will take you home

By: supramarginal

supramarginal — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:52:33 -0800

Sweet Sophia, by Stephen Kellogg.

John Mayer has mentioned a number of times that Daughters is not actually such a charming song if you read the lyrics... it's more along the lines of "please don't screw up your girl before I can get to her."

By: micayetoca

micayetoca — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:47:52 -0800

And he did it again. Fantastic song.