Since my amazing father and I share a birthday month (Happy Birthday Papa!), I’d like to share a list of songs that inspire me by the love he has given me each day of my life. He has shown me how to be strong but kind and understanding. He raised my brothers and I in a house he built to fit our growing family. He has taught me how to be proud of myself and humble at the same time. And most importantly, he has shown me what traits I hope to find in the father of my future children. I have always believe that music speaks where words fail, so I figured these would be a better way to tell everyone how I feel about my father than just saying "He's awesome" or "I love him a lot." Each song has a special story or meaning behind it, and I hope you enjoy reading them. :)
Daddy’s Hands by Holly Dunn
“But I'll always remember the love in daddy's hands, remember daddy's hands workin' 'til they bled, sacrificed unselfishly just to keep us all fed. If I could do things over, I'd live my life again, and never take for granted the love in daddy's hands. Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin'. Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong. Daddy's hands weren't always gentle but I've come to understand there was always love in daddy's hands.”
My father is a mailman. He handles paper all day, everyday. I don’t know if you’ve ever spent a day touching paper after paper, but it sucks the moisture out of your fingertips like a vampire. His fingertips were so dry and tough that he would get cracks that bled. He always had this little bottle of liquid latex that he would put on his hands to keep his fingers from falling apart. I can still occasionally remember what it smelled like. I also grew up in the country were my father spent hours after coming home everyday chopping wood, cutting grass, feeding the animals, working on all our vehicles, cooking dinner, doing laundry, adding on to our old log cabin home. There were many nights he’d come in and fall asleep in his chair as soon as he was done eating dinner.
When I fall in love, Celine Dion and Clive Griffin:
“When I fall in love it will be forever, or I'll never fall in love. In a restless world like this is, love is ended before it's begun, and too many moonlight kisses seem to cool in the warmth of the sun. When I give my heart, it will be completely, or I'll never give my heart.”
Every Valentine’s Day, my parents and I exchange gifts. Often, these gifts included a stuffed animal of some kind. (Short back story: Like I said earlier, my father is a mailman, and we both have an extreme love of Celine Dion.) One year, in my early teens, my dad bought me a little white bear with a stamp embroidered into its paw. On the tag, there was an actual stamp that matched the one sewn on the bear, and a little card with the lyrics to “When I fall in Love.” It was one of my favorite gifts I’ve ever received from my father.
My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion:
“Far across the distance and spaces between us, you have come to show you go on. Near, far, wherever you are, I believe that the heart does go on. Once more you open the door and you're here in my heart, and my heart will go on and on. You're here, there's nothing I fear, and I know that my heart will go on. We'll stay forever this way. You are safe in my heart and my heart will go on and on.”
It would take an iceberg of Titanic proportions to separate my father an I. He and I are so much cut from the same cloth, it is often hard to imagine what one would be like without the other. In fact, it’s impossible. Celine Dion singing the song, well that just makes it that much more perfect for us.
You’ll be in my heart by Phil Collins:
“Come stop your crying, it will be alright. Just take my hand, hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you. I will be here, don't you cry. This bond between us can't be broken. 'Cause you'll be in my heart, yes, you'll be in my heart from this day on, now and forever more. You'll be in my heart, no matter what they say. I may not be with you, but you've got to hold on. Believe me, you'll be in my heart. Just look over your shoulder, I'll be there always.”
As A 90’s baby, I spent my fair share of childhood parked in front of the television watching Disney films. And while I know this song is more about Tarzan and his mom, my dad used to say this to me as we watched this movie. My father is also a super outdoorsy fellow, and I always imagine him as a Tarzan like man in his younger days.
Stealing Cinderella by Chuck Wicks:
“He slapped me on the shoulder, then he called her in the room. When she threw her arms around him, that's when I could see it too. She was playing Cinderella, riding her first bike, bouncing on the bed and looking for a pillow fight, running through the sprinkler with a big Popsicle grin, dancing with her dad, looking up at him. If he gives me a hard time, I can't blame the fella. I'm the one who's stealing Cinderella"
I have made every memory listed in this song with my father, and every time I listen to this song, these memories play like a movie in my head, warming my soul from the inside out as I recall my childhood and dream about my future. I can totally envision my father having a moment like this with whatever man decides to tell him that he is in love with me, and I can only hope it goes over just as well.
I'm Already There by Lonestar:
"I'm already there. Don't make a sound. I'm the beat in your heart. I'm the moonlight shining down. I'm the whisper in the wind and I'll be there until the end. Can you feel the love that we share? Oh, I'm already there. I'm already there. Take a look around. I'm the sunshine in your hair. I'm the shadow on the ground. I'm the whisper in the wind and I'll be there until the end. Can you feel the love that we share? Oh, I'm already there. We may be a thousand miles apart, but I'll be with you wherever you are."
In my short 22 years of life, I have had some really bad days. Going off to college made my bad days even worse, because I couldn't just sit down in the kitchen or make dinner with my dad and get everything off my chest. For a while, I would just try to fight it, and hold it in, because I didn't want to call him crying. There were some days however when I just really needed my dad. And in my dark moments when I didn't know what to do, I would often hear this song start playing in my head, and I would immediately find myself calming down and coming back to myself. I may have chosen to go to college 4 hours away from home, but my dad, my mom, my brothers and sisters, as well as most of my family are always just a phone call away if I ever need anything. But on top of that, my dad is always with me. He is a part of my heart and soul and I will feel him with me until the day my heart stops beating. I don't even need to call him sometimes. I can just feel him with me, guiding me in my choices and helping me to constantly grow.
I Loved Her First by Heartland:
“But I loved her first and I held her first, and a place in my heart will always be hers. From the first breath she breathed, when she first smiled at me, I knew the love of a father runs deep. And I prayed that she'd find you someday, but it's still hard to give her away, just remember son, I loved her first.”
As a young woman, I often find myself thinking about the man I’ll marry, the wedding we’ll have, and what kind of song I want to use for my Father-Daughter Dance. Everyone knows that I’m my daddy’s girl, so this song has to be very important and really convey what is happening in that moment. This song is literally about the father giving her away with his blessing. How perfect is that?
Love Without End, Amen by George Straight:
“He said “Let me tell you a secret about a father's love, A secret that my daddy said was just between us.” He said, “Daddies don't just love their children every now and then. It's a love without end, Amen."
I’ve never doubted for a second that my father has ever loved me. I’ve misbehaved, I’ve made him sad and mad and frustrated. But nothing I’ve ever done has made me worried that he would stop loving me. Every new thing I do, every heartbreak I go through, every moment of celebration, my dad is there going through every second, every emotion right along with me, keeping me safe.
Daddy, thank you for everything you do for me. There is no possible way I would be the woman in front of you today without having you as my father. I know I tell you all the time, but in case today I didn’t, I LOVE YOU! You are so much more than I deserve, and everything I need, and I hope to spend the rest of my life making sure you know how much you mean to me. I grew up in the safety of an all-encompassing love to which nothing can compare, and nothing and noone will ever be able to take the place you hold in my heart, and as Jamie says in Outlander“When the day shall come that we do part, if my last words are not I love you, you’ll ken it was because I dinna have time.”
