Songs About Fathers & Sons

no guru · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 3:16 pm

Two my my faves:

Her Father Never Liked Me Anyway - Humblebums (also on Gerry Rafferty comps)

Hello Dad I'm In Jail - Was (Not Was)

great mother-daughter song:

You Cause As Much Sorrow - Sinead O'Connor

current hit that will be inescapable but I still like it:

Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day (about the death of Billy Jo's dad in 1982)

best father-son songs of the 60's:

Color Him Father - The Winstons
Papa Was a Rolling Stone - Temptations

FT · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:33 pm

Especially for HLump, cuz I know how much he lurves this song...

"Patches" by Clarence Carter

PopTodd · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:39 pm

Well, nobody else has mentioned it yet, but I wrote a father/son song that was on the Hop On Pop record. And I think it's pretty good. More in the John Lennon "Beautiful Boy" vein than the theme that prevades this thread.

Still...
"Cary's Here" is about me and my boy. Or at least the dynamic of being a new father and the overwhelming feelings associated with that situation.

juice · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:42 pm

FT Wrote:

Especially for HLump, cuz I know how much he lurves this song...

"Patches" by Clarence Carter

Finally someone said it. I was about to mention this one.

Yail Bloor · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:44 pm

"Dyers Eve" by Metallica.

Metal up your ass, sissies.

juice · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:50 pm

uhhhhh......"Father Figure" by George Michael?

OPA?

Elvis Fu · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:52 pm

Ex Lion Tamer Wrote:

"Old Man" - Neil Young, I've heard talk that it is about his dad

Nah. I think it was about an old guy that living on or near Neil's ranch in California. Or maybe he was living there when Neil bought it, and the Old Man showed him around. Something like that, but not his dad.

Scott Young, Neil's dad, is a fairly well known Canadian writer/novelist.

I looked him on Wikipedia too see how old he was, since I thought he was still alive, but it turns out Scott Young died in June 2005 at age 87. If "Old Man" was written in the early 1970s, he would have only been 50-something.

Hey, it says here that Scott Young is also in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"Patches" is a good one though.

MontyTheMongoose · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:53 pm

Drinky Wrote:

Gaping A' Wrote:

Flaming Lips - "Fight Test"

Nooo?

Not as far as I know.

"Waiting for Superman" is about Wayne's dad dying, though.

Point taken.

I was just thinking of the "Fight Test"/"Father & Son" relationship, and I was not sure to what extent they cribbed from Yusef Islam (Cat Stephens).

FLAMING LIPS SUPPORT TERRORISM.

splates · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 5:33 pm

Gaping A' Wrote:

Flaming Lips - "Fight Test"

Nooo?

subtle

mcaputo · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 5:33 pm

Dent County - jay farrar
Glenn Tipton - sun kil moon
Dinner at Eight - rufus wainwright

HideousLump · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 11:15 pm

Half of John Lennon's "Mother" is about his father.

Billzebub · **Joined:** Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:26 pm **Posts:** 6459

Wall of Voodoo: Me & My Dad
Ian Dury & The Blockheads: My Old Man

fuse · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 11:49 pm

XTC - Hold Me My Daddy

Donovan · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2005 12:04 am

Loudon Wainwright III - Rufus Is A Tit Man

Ex Lion Tamer · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2005 10:29 am

Elvis Fu Wrote:

I looked him on Wikipedia too see how old he was, since I thought he was still alive, but it turns out Scott Young died in June 2005 at age 87. If "Old Man" was written in the early 1970s, he would have only been 50-something.

In the '60s and '70s it was common to refer to your father as "the old man"

Elvis Fu Wrote:

Hey, it says here that Scott Young is also in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Yeah that is for his sporstwriting, I believe.

The first time I heard that it could be about his father was when Scott Young died, which was pretty big news here in Canada. Apparently, he and his dad were estranged, because of his parents divorce. I think Neil spent a good part of his teenage years in Winnipeg, while his dad was in Toronto. I don't think his father was thrilled when he decided to become a musician. I think the lyrics are consistent with a guy telling his Dad, "hey, I'm not so different from you when you were young, so back off", but I don't have the song with me so I can't confirm.

Elvis Fu · **Posted:** Sat Sep 10, 2005 12:16 am

Ex Lion Tamer Wrote:

The first time I heard that it could be about his father was when Scott Young died, which was pretty big news here in Canada. Apparently, he and his dad were estranged, because of his parents divorce. I think Neil spent a good part of his teenage years in Winnipeg, while his dad was in Toronto. I don't think his father was thrilled when he decided to become a musician. I think the lyrics are consistent with a guy telling his Dad, "hey, I'm not so different from you when you were young, so back off", but I don't have the song with me so I can't confirm.

Buy yourself one of these, if you are a Young fan. You can snatch them up cheap on half.com. I know it's common to refer to your father as "old man", hell I do it myself. I think in the book Young himself even tells the story of the old man at the ranch. I'll have to go look.

Fryxell · **Posted:** Sat Sep 10, 2005 5:34 pm

Death Cab's "Styrofoam Plates" is a great father/son song. So uplifting.

Songs About Fathers & Sons

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