Father's Day, Vol. 6

Somehow, mid-June and Father's Day are here again! For all the dads and dad figures in our lives, it's so great to show them how loved and appreciated they are on their own special day. Fatherhood is not for the faint of heart, and I know that I'm personally beyond blessed to have my own amazing dad as well as a fantastic husband who's the best dad ever for our baby girl.

Here is the 2025 Audio Aesthetics Father's Day Playlist - the full master playlist can be found on Apple Music by following @audioaesthetics.

DAUGHTER by Beyoncé (written by B. Knowles, C. Ochs, S. Maartensson, D. Dixie, T. Gesteelde-Diamant, S. Carter)

Featured on Beyoncé's 2024 album Cowboy Carter, this haunting (but, sorry, not really country) song depicts a very complicated father-daughter relationship. It's been rumored for many years now that Beyoncé's relationship with her own dad is tumultuous at best, but whether or not that's true, this is honestly a cool example of lyrical storytelling.

Your body laid out on these filthy floors/Your bloodstains on my custom coutures/Bathroom attendant let me right in/She was a big fan/I really tried to stay cool/But your arrogance disturbed my solitude/Now I ripped your dress and you're all black and blue/Look what you made me do/They keep sayin' that I ain't nothin' like my father/But I'm the furthest thing from choir boys and altars/If you cross me, I'm just like my father/I am colder than Titanic water/Help me, Lord, from these fantasies in my head/They ain't ever been safe ones/I don't fellowship with these fake ones/So let's travel to white chapels and sing hymns/Hold rosaries and sing in stained-glass symphonies/Cleanse me, Holy Trinity, from this marijuana smoke smell in my hair

Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin (written by T. Brown, P. Barrett)

Featured on Tomlin's 2016 album Never Lose Sight, this modern worship classic is a beautiful reminder of how great our Heavenly Father's love for us is. For those who haven't had a good relationship with their earthly father, God is right there when we accept Him into our hearts to fully adopt us into His family forever.

Oh, I've heard a thousand stories of what they think You're like/But I've heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night/And You tell me that You're pleased and that I'm never alone/You're a good, good Father/It's who You are, it's who You are, it's who You are/And I'm loved by You/It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am

One Last Time by Christopher Jackson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, & the Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton (written by L. Miranda)

Featured in Act II of the 2017 musical Hamilton and performed by the characters of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, this emotional number showcases what is (now) a well-known fatherlike mentorship between the first President and Secretary of Treasury. It's a passing of the torch, and a good reminder that just because something is ending, it doesn't diminish all that happened at the time, and to slow down and enjoy life while you can.

Mr. President, you asked to see me/I know you’re busy/What do you need, sir, sir/I wanna give you a word of warning/Sir, I don’t know what you heard, but whatever it is, Jefferson started it/Thomas Jefferson resigned this morning/You’re kidding/I need a favor/Whatever you say, sir, Jefferson will pay for this behavior/Shh, talk less/I’ll use the press, I’ll write under a pseudonym, you’ll see what I can do to him/I need you to draft an address/Yes, he resigned, you can finally speak your mind/No, he’s stepping down so he can run for President/Ha, good luck defeating you, sir/I’m stepping down, I’m not running for President/I’m sorry, what/One last time, relax, have a drink with me/One last time, let’s take a break tonight/And then we’ll teach them how to say goodbye, to say goodbye/You and I

Fathers and Daughters (Live) by Kristin Chenoweth (written by J. Marr, T. Douglas)

Featured on Chenoweth's 2013 live album Coming Home, this sweet song would make a perfect father-daughter dance at a wedding reception. Chenoweth has always been so vocal about her love for her parents, and her adoration and appreciation for her own adoption story gets me misty-eyed.

Well, you laughed and told me you really wanted a boy/But you cried first time you held me, said you never felt such joy/That's fathers and daughters/And when you took the training wheels right off my bike/That's the first time I could feel my wings/‘Cause you taught me how to fly/That's fathers and daughters/When I was a pink ballerina dancing in the kitchen/You held out your hand so I could try my luck at spinning/The world keeps turning always through it all/You're still there to catch me, I’m still learning how to fall/That's fathers, daughters

Perfect by Simple Plan (written by A. Lanni, J. Stinco, P. Bouvier, S. Lefebvre, C. Comeau)

Featured on Simple Plan's 2002 album No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls, this song hits all the middle school nostalgia buttons for me and breaks my heart in a different way now that I'm an adult. The acoustic version that was on the Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen soundtrack got the heck played out of it on my pink iPod Mini.

Hey, Dad, look at me, think back and talk to me/Did I grow up according to plan/And do you think I’m wasting my time doing things I wanna do/But it hurts when you disapprove all along/And now I try hard to make it, I just wanna make you proud/I’m never gonna be good enough for you/Can’t pretend that I’m alright/And you can’t change me/‘Cause we lost it all, nothing lasts forever/I’m sorry I can’t be perfect/Now it’s just too late and we can’t go back/I’m sorry I can’t be perfect

My Father's Father by The Civil Wars (written by J. White, J. Williams)

Featured on The Civil Wars' 2011 album Barton Hollow, this folksy sounding song fits The Civil Wars' vibe to a tee. It's largely here for the direct titular reference to both a father and a grandfather, but like most of their other stuff it's a cool listen. I hear something hanging on the wind/I see black smoke up around the bend/I’ve got my ticket and I'm going to go home/The leaves have changed a time or two/Since the last time a train came through/I’ve got my ticket and I'm going to go home

Like Father, Like Son by The Game ft. Busta Rhymes (written by J. Taylor, T. Smith, A. Best)

Featured on The Game's 2005 album The Documentary, this song details the birth of Jayceon "The Game" Taylor's first son Harlem. I'm an absolute sucker for songs written by parents about or directly to their kids, even more so now that I'm a parent myself.

June 30th, 11:07 I got that call/She 8 centimeters, my lil' man about to fall/Scuffing my Air Forces, running through the hospital hall/Deja vu, like I been here before/I’m feeling reborn, like a Bed-Stuy brethren, my first born/Dre, I'm about to have a bad boy, family in the lobby/See my n**** Church, "What Up," shit I left the camcorder in the truck/Running through the maternity ward, out of breath, sweating/I swear to God every minute's starting to feel like a second/I seen Hell staring down the barrel of a Smith & Wesson/My son's ultrasound the closest I ever been to Heaven/Lord forgive me for my sins, I know it's last minute/Put the chronic in the air, a little hash in it/Spread my wings, if only I could fly/Why fight to live homie, if we only living to die/I hope you grow up to become that everything you can be/That's all I wanted for you young'n, like father, like son/But in the end, I hope you only turn out better than me/I hope you know I love you young'n, like father, like son/My little man, your day is coming, coming, your day is coming, I tell you/And when it comes, just keep it running, running, just keep it running, I tell you

For everyone celerating this weekend, I hope you have a wonderful, fun day loving on your dads and dad figures. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!