I can't dance to that!!!
April 27, 2013 5:39 AM Subscribe
Please recommend me a good song for the father-daughter dance at the wedding!!!
I am desperate, and need suggestions yesterday!
My daughter is getting married in May. This afternoon, she is meeting with the DJ to set a song list for the reception. This includes the music for the now-obligatory father-daughter dance. So, last night, at the 11th hour, my daughter started asking me which songs I'd like to dance to. Thing is, the suggestions she was providing were all of these treacly, syrupy, over-the-top-schmaltzy country ballads...I Loved Her First, My Little Girl, Butterfly Kisses...You get the idea.
Anyone have suggestions for good father-daughter dance songs that can still be slow danced to but not sound so gooey and twangy? One caveat...My daughter isn't too alt, so Yo La Tengo, for instance, probably isn't gonna fly.
Many thanks!
I am desperate, and need suggestions yesterday!
My daughter is getting married in May. This afternoon, she is meeting with the DJ to set a song list for the reception. This includes the music for the now-obligatory father-daughter dance. So, last night, at the 11th hour, my daughter started asking me which songs I'd like to dance to. Thing is, the suggestions she was providing were all of these treacly, syrupy, over-the-top-schmaltzy country ballads...I Loved Her First, My Little Girl, Butterfly Kisses...You get the idea.
Anyone have suggestions for good father-daughter dance songs that can still be slow danced to but not sound so gooey and twangy? One caveat...My daughter isn't too alt, so Yo La Tengo, for instance, probably isn't gonna fly.
Many thanks!
Stardust Memories, the classic Willie Nelson version.
posted by devinemissk at 5:51 AM on April 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by devinemissk at 5:51 AM on April 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
I once saw a father/daughter dance to The Beatles - Let It Be.
posted by ZabeLeeZoo at 5:57 AM on April 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by ZabeLeeZoo at 5:57 AM on April 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
A friend danced to Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground-Willie Nelson and it was lovely.
posted by goggie at 6:01 AM on April 27, 2013
posted by goggie at 6:01 AM on April 27, 2013
Paul Simon's Father and Daughter is an awesome song. Touching but not schmaltzy. I'll let you decide its dancability factor.
posted by The Deej at 6:06 AM on April 27, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by The Deej at 6:06 AM on April 27, 2013 [2 favorites]
"The Way You Look Tonight" is nice - I like the Tony Bennett version, but the Frank Sinatra and Steve Tyrell versions are nice too.
"Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder is sweet, as is "My Girl" by either The Temptations or Otis Redding.
posted by justonegirl at 6:13 AM on April 27, 2013
"Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder is sweet, as is "My Girl" by either The Temptations or Otis Redding.
posted by justonegirl at 6:13 AM on April 27, 2013
Landslide by fleetwood Mac is sometimes sng by Stevie Nicks for her dad.
posted by bq at 6:34 AM on April 27, 2013
posted by bq at 6:34 AM on April 27, 2013
My dad and I (and my husband and his mom) danced to Sam Cooke's "Nothing Can Change This Love."
posted by pised at 7:08 AM on April 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by pised at 7:08 AM on April 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
My dad and I danced to Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World."
posted by chiababe at 7:44 AM on April 27, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by chiababe at 7:44 AM on April 27, 2013 [2 favorites]
A friend of mine and her dad danced to the Doris Day version of Que Sera, Sera.
posted by camyram at 7:51 AM on April 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by camyram at 7:51 AM on April 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Not meaning to threadsit, but...I've cried more this morning than I have in ages, just going through the possibilities. I'm dreading the wedding day.
Carry on, please. You guys are doing great!
posted by Thorzdad at 7:54 AM on April 27, 2013 [8 favorites]
Carry on, please. You guys are doing great!
posted by Thorzdad at 7:54 AM on April 27, 2013 [8 favorites]
Seconding 'Nothing Can Change This Love' (and, combining the parent/child dances)
posted by Fig at 7:58 AM on April 27, 2013
posted by Fig at 7:58 AM on April 27, 2013
I'm a showtune person, so I would suggest "Sunrise, Sunset" even if you aren't Jewish.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:07 AM on April 27, 2013
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:07 AM on April 27, 2013
My Dad and I used, "My Girl," by the Temptations. It's pretty fast and upbeat, and it allowed my Dad to show off some skills. It really worked for us.
posted by Kronur at 8:25 AM on April 27, 2013
posted by Kronur at 8:25 AM on April 27, 2013
This may be a radical idea, but - is going "funny" an option? My father and I are not sentimental types, and he is always prone to trying to puncture tense or sentimental moments with a joke - so I've resolved that if I ever do have a wedding, I'm going to pick some slow-ish but unexpectedly un-wedding-ish song (most likely She Caught The Katy as he's also a Blues fan). If you and your daughter are both amenable to tweaking people's expectations, maybe some silly song that you both like would be fun.
("The Chicken Dance" would also be good for this, but you asked for slow.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:43 AM on April 27, 2013
("The Chicken Dance" would also be good for this, but you asked for slow.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:43 AM on April 27, 2013
We used "My Girl" too and it was great. FYI I recommend that you have the dj cut it short, which we did, because no matter what song you pick it will feel awkward after a while.
posted by nkknkk at 9:20 AM on April 27, 2013
posted by nkknkk at 9:20 AM on April 27, 2013
She's a Rainbow
You have to find a good cover version, like this one from Arcade Fire, because the stop-start original makes it hard to dance to.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:22 AM on April 27, 2013
You have to find a good cover version, like this one from Arcade Fire, because the stop-start original makes it hard to dance to.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:22 AM on April 27, 2013
My dad took dancing lessons so he could dance with me at my wedding. The only dance he was really comfortable with was the Waltz, so we danced to the Tennessee Waltz.
One of my favorite memories of the day was Dad counting, "one, two, three, four..."
posted by teleri025 at 9:26 AM on April 27, 2013
One of my favorite memories of the day was Dad counting, "one, two, three, four..."
posted by teleri025 at 9:26 AM on April 27, 2013
If you use "nothing can change this love" I'd rec the version on Live from Harlem Square rather than the studio version. Much more up tempo.
(eh. It was our wedding song.)
What about the cliche for a reason "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys?
posted by JPD at 10:30 AM on April 27, 2013
(eh. It was our wedding song.)
What about the cliche for a reason "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys?
posted by JPD at 10:30 AM on April 27, 2013
Perhaps a long shot, but check Steve Earle's Sparkle and Shine. I'm a mom and it's hard for me to imagine my daughter having anything resembling a traditional wedding. Nonetheless, I hope that someday I get to dance with her to that song.
posted by she's not there at 10:36 AM on April 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by she's not there at 10:36 AM on April 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
Point of Grace - King of the World. I cried when my now-husband played it for me. I still cry when i hear it now. It was perfecft for my father and i... he even had tears in his eyes when we danced.
posted by Verdandi at 10:38 AM on April 27, 2013
posted by Verdandi at 10:38 AM on April 27, 2013
Why not pick something from her childhood? Not a kid's song, but maybe something that you listened to a lot when she was young, that she associates with you? Or something that she used to really like. Or something you both used to really like. Can you think of something that you used to sing together in a car?
posted by ActingTheGoat at 10:57 AM on April 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by ActingTheGoat at 10:57 AM on April 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
I've always loved More Than Words by Extreme (YouTube, lyrics). I'm near tears thinking about using it as a father daughter dance at my own, hypothetical wedding.
posted by youngergirl44 at 2:51 PM on April 27, 2013
posted by youngergirl44 at 2:51 PM on April 27, 2013
I always liked Look What You've Done for Me by Al Green.
posted by mermily at 3:59 PM on April 27, 2013
posted by mermily at 3:59 PM on April 27, 2013
I danced to "Harvest Moon" by Neil Young and cut it before the part about "when we were lovers."
posted by dottiechang at 8:51 PM on April 27, 2013
posted by dottiechang at 8:51 PM on April 27, 2013
My dad and I danced to "How deep is your love" by The Bee Gees at my wedding.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 11:23 AM on April 28, 2013
posted by CrazyLemonade at 11:23 AM on April 28, 2013
You want "Daughter" by Loudon Wainwright III. Lyrics.
posted by jbickers at 8:18 AM on April 29, 2013
posted by jbickers at 8:18 AM on April 29, 2013
Response by poster: Thank you all for the fantastic suggestions. The wedding was Saturday, and it went perfectly. The bride was, of course, beautiful.
The father-daughter dance song was...
When You Need Me by Bruce Springsteen
I hope this thread helps other desperate fathers in the future.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:03 PM on May 27, 2013
The father-daughter dance song was...
When You Need Me by Bruce Springsteen
I hope this thread helps other desperate fathers in the future.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:03 PM on May 27, 2013
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posted by maxg94 at 5:48 AM on April 27, 2013 [2 favorites]