Father's Day is here again! This year, I've gotten to watch my husband turn into a dad these last few months, and it's been beyond amazing. A strong, loving, dedicated father figure is truly something to behold in a child's life, and I'm so grateful my daughter has that type of support system just like I always did growing up.
Coming up is the 2024 Audio Aesthetics Father's Day Playlist - the full master playlist can be found on Apple Music by following @audioaesthetics.
Gracie by Ben Folds (written by B. Folds)
Featured on Folds's 2005 album Songs for Silverman, this sweet little pop ballad was written by Folds for his daughter, the titular Gracie. It's a sweet, simple little picture of an adoring watching his daughter grow up and knowing he's totally wrapped around her finger, willing to do anything for her.
You can't fool me, I saw you when you came out/You got your mama's taste, but you got my mouth/You will always have a part of me/Nobody else is ever gonna see, Gracie girl/With your cards to your chest, walking on your toes/What you got in the box, only Gracie knows/And I would never try to make you be/Anything you didn’t really wanna be, Gracie girl
Kooks by David Bowie (written by D. Jones, M. Ronson)
Featured on Bowie's 1971 album Hunky Dory, this is a really cute song that he wrote for his own son, Duncan, when he was a newborn. It's got sweet, frankly adorable lyrics from a new dad's point of view, "asking" the baby if he'll stick around in the story of their family and promising that while it may not be picture perfect, it'll still be great.
Will you stay in our lover's story/If you stay, you won't be sorry/‘Cause we believe in you/Soon you'll grow, so take a chance/With a couple of kooks hung up on romancing/Will you stay in our lover's story/If you stay, you won't be sorry/‘Cause we believe in you/Soon you'll grow, so take a chance/With a couple of kooks hung up on romancing/We bought a lot of things to keep you warm and dry/A funny old crib on which the paint won't dry/I bought you a pair of shoes/A trumpet you can blow and a book of rules/On what to say to people when they pick on you/‘Cause if you stay with us, you're gonna be pretty kookie, too
Johanna (Reprise) by Jamie Campbell Bower, Johnny Depp, & Laura Michelle Kelly (written by S. Sondheim)
Featured in the 2007 film adaptation of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, this ode to the titular character's daughter Johanna is both sweet and dark at the same time. Johanna is admittedly the only thing Sweeney remotely cares about, it's true, but at this point in the story he's getting in so deep to his messed up arrangement with Mrs. Lovett that he's forgetting his end goal: seeing his beloved daughter again.
And are you beautiful and pale with yellow hair like her/I’d want you beautiful and pale, the way I dreamed you were/Johanna/And if you're beautiful, what then, with yellow hair like wheat/I think we shall not meet again, my little dove, my sweet/Johanna/Goodbye, Johanna, you're gone, and yet you're mine/I’m fine, Johanna, I’m fine
The Father I Never Had by Joel Engle (written by J. Engle)
Featured on Engle's 2005 album Made for Worship, this beautiful worship song is based on Engle's upbringing; his father walked out and his mother passed away, leaving him to be raised by his grandparents. In this imperfect world, sadly many people grow up without having a good relationship with their earthly father, but we can all turn to our Heavenly Father for eternal comfort and a love that surpasses anything we'll experience on earth.
There's a little child inside this man who still does not understand/Why Momma had to die, she didn't say goodbye/Daddy left without a trace, I never even saw his face/Was I to blame, I still feel the pain/Of a heart shattered like glass that cut my soul to pieces/I never thought I would love again until I met You, Jesus/You're the Father I never had/And Your love never changes through the good times and the bad/You're the Father I never had/Just hold me in Your arms and heal me of the past/And be the Father I never had
Daddy Sang Bass by Johnny Cash (written by C. Perkins)
Featured on Cash's 1969 album The Holy Land, this is a fun, upbeat song about a loving family and a special memory the narrator has about them. It reminds me a little of Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors just in the space of a homegrown family moment that sticks with a person forever.
I remember when I was a lad, times were hard and things were bad/But there's a silver linin' behind every cloud/Just poor people, that 's all we were, tryin' to make a living out of black land dirt/But we'd get together in a family circle singing loud/Daddy sang bass, Mama sang tenor, me and little brother would join right in there/Singing seems to help a troubled soul/One of these days and it won't be long, I’ll rejoin them in a song/I’m gonna join the family circle at the throne
Through the Years by Kenny Rogers (written by M. Panzer, S. Dorff)
Featured on Rogers's 1981 album Share Your Love, this song seems to be a pretty popular choice for Father Daughter Dances at weddings. It's ideally written for romantic partners, but the lyrics especially in the beginning can really encapsulate the love between a father and their child as well.
I can't remember when you weren't there/When I didn't care for anyone but you/I swear we've been through everything there is/Can't imagine anything we've missed/Can't imagine anything the two of us can't do/Through the years, you've never let me down, you've turned my life around/The sweetest days I've found, I've found with you/Through the years, I've never been afraid, I’ve loved the life we've made/And I'm so glad I stayed right here with you through the years
You Are My Sunshine by Zach Bryan (written by J. Davis, C. Mitchell)
Featured on Bryan's 2022 album American Heartbreak, I've always loved this classic song as an ode from a parent to their child. Bryan puts his signature country stamp on a tune most of us have known our whole lives, and I love listening to it, especially when it pops up on the playlist I've made for my daughter.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine/You make me happy when skies are gray/You'll never know, dear, how much I love you/So please don't take my sunshine away/The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping/I dreamt I held you in my tired arms/When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken/So I bowed my head and I cried
Have a wonderful weekend celebrating the dads in your life - they definitely deserve it for putting in that important work day in and day out. Happy listening, and see y'all next week!
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