Now that Only Mostly Missus and I are getting to the nitpicky details stage of wedding planning, we’re stumped on a father-daughter song that is neutral enough to knock out the anticipated mother-son dance (feh) at the same time.
But we don’t want sappy or inappropriate (“Butterfly Kisses” works on both fronts), or just lame (a typical internet list).
The wedding is going to be a fairly traditional and stylish affair, limiting the music styles a little bit, but it’s pretty open.
Congratulations to you both. I know it’s on that list you quoted, but in my family it’s always “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong, and it always seemd very nice to me, not too sappy.
I suppose you could go with the Nick Cave/Shane MacGowan cover if you wanted to be totally off the wall. 
I should have said there are one or two songs on that list (such as “What a Wonderful World”) that are actually being considered. But for the most part (“A Whole New World”? “You’re the Inspiration”?), ouch.
There’s also a great medley of *What A Wonderful World * and *Somewhere Over The Rainbow * by Israel Kamakawiwo`ole.
I had one that would only work if your dad was the same age mine was when I got married:
When I’m Sixty-Four.
Speaking of Nick Cave, how about his duet with Kylie Minoque- WHERE THE WILD ROSES GROW ?
What?
How about the Godfather Waltz?
First, congrats!
Second, Good thinking on thinking about this in advance. I can not tell you how many weddings I’ve attended ( none in recent years) where the Father/Daughter dance song just was as sucky as the First Dance by the bride and groom.
Whatever you pick, just make it a song you can actually dance too. This is doubly so for whatever your song is.
Other than that, I have no musical suggestions as that is totally out of my area of expertise. Might as well drop me into Russia, I’d probably survive longer than a music question.
Can You Feel the Love Tonight? is on that list. That is so . . . wrong. It’s about lions consecrating their love! “And can you feel the love tonight? / The way it’s laid to rest? . . . / There’s a rhyme and reason to the wild outdoors / When the heart of this star-crossed voyager beats in time with yours.” Ew. My daddy’s not gonna sex me up at my wedding, and I highly suggest that no one else’s dad does at their wedding either.
Anyway. Unforgettable is always classy. For something that you’re probably not going to hear very often, you could try Hush by the Squirrel Nut Zippers (more mother-son) or Meant to Be by the same. “Meant to Be” is faster than “Hush”, which is a lullaby. They’re all have a slight swing to them, so they’re perfect for dancing. You can listen to samples on Amazon. Hush here and Meant to Be here. (I suppose if you wanted to be hilarious, you could use “The Suits are Picking Up the Bill” off the same album as “Meant to Be”, but I don’t anyone should be that funny.)
If the father and daughter won’t be living near each other, I’ll be Seeing You, would be a great song. Or you may consider Que Sara Sara.
I always thought the song sould be a dedication from the father to the daughter.
Given that context, Horace Heidt’s “I don’t want to set the world on fire” might fit the bill - being such a sweet innocent song.
There’s gotta be a good Motown number that would go over well. I dunno which one though - but Motown is always good dance music and no one tends to be offended.
You could go wordless. For our first dance, we had Glenn Miller’s Moonlight Serenade. Romantic and classy, with no lyrics at all.
I always wanted my mother son dance to be Seseame Street’s “Sing”
If we are going for Nick Cave it has to be Nature Boy or Breathless from Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus. Nice sentimental pop that will have you waving your arms in the air.
I went to a wedding several years ago where the father-daughter dance was When I Fall In Love. The version they used was off of one of Natalie Cole’s albums and had Nat King Cole’s voice dubbed in. Pretty song; not too mushy; and it was neat having it be a father-daughter duet for the father-daughter dance.
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society.
Oh! Oh! Mine is good, mine is good! I didn’t intend to have a father-daughter dance at my wedding, but we ended up doing an impromptu one to “My Girl” by The Temptations. If you don’t mind the song being uptempto, it’s very sweet and cute and not corny at all. It’s a very sweet memory that I’ll always have, dancing to that song with my dad.
I don’t think you can go wrong with Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” but also think “Stand By Me” a good choice.
If you go instrumental, you should find a good recording of “Solace” by Scott Joplin, I know there’s an orchestrated version on the “Sting” soundtrack album. It is lovely and sentimental, but beautiful. (I can’t vouch for the midi I linked to, I’m at work and can’t play it). Trust me, it is a lovely piece of music.
You want something up tempo, but not overly sentimental?
Nothing comes immediately to mind. Maybe something upbeat with your daughter’s name in it? Sinatra has his Nancy song
Sorry, I’m not much help.
Oooh, how about Death Is Not The End, then? That’d be great for a father to a daughter.