# Songs/Poems about Fathers and Sons **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129 "2010-06-14T13:34:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/41 "2010-06-15T14:01:27Z")
There’s a song I finally remembered to share with Mr. All-I-Wanna-Be-Is-A-Dad, aka my Middle Bro, and he says he bawled like a baby reading the lyrics, according to Google it’s sung by George Strait: “Love without end, amen”. Being country, it’s got relatively simple lyrics (I can barely understand some of the lyrics that have been quoted, guys, this is for a class). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/42 "2010-06-15T14:32:03Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > So far, the pieces I’ve chosen for them are “A Boy Named Sue” (Shel Silverstein/Johnny Cash), “If” (Rudyard Kipling) and “Cat’s In the Cradle” by Harry and Sandy Chapin. > [@scifisam2009](#): > > Rudyar Kipling, 'If > [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > “Boy Named Sue”? > [@Ex\_Chemist](#): > > _Cat’s in the Cradle_ by Harry Chapin. And we have the trifecta! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/43 "2010-06-15T14:43:58Z")
This is about a stepfather, not a biological father, but it’s a great song anyway, and seems to fit your theme: “He Didn’t Have to Be” by Brad Paisley [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iin2EgTsC9o) ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/44 "2010-06-15T15:25:16Z")
Country music has a metric shit-ton of Daddy songs. Here’s a couple rather glurgy ones that I still like: [The Car by Jeff Carson](http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/carson-jeff/the-car-109.html) [The Walk by Sawyer Brown](http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/sawyer-brown/the-walk-15022.html) And a couple of heartbreakers from Tim McGraw: [Walk Like A Man](http://www.lyricsdomain.com/20/tim_mcgraw/walk_like_a_man.html) - this is not a cover of earlier songs by the same title, BTW. Very sad stuff: _His old man woke him up to help him find the car Take the bus uptown outside some rundown bar And swore that he was quittin And then he’d start to cry And though the boy knew the truth Sometimes he’d still believe that lie._ And, from his new album: [You Had To Be There](http://www.metrolyrics.com/you-had-to-be-there-lyrics-tim-mcgraw.html) about a young man meeting his father for the first time when he (the son) is in prison. I’d also recommend either version of Forever Young. Me, I like the [Rod Stewart version](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/rod+stewart/forever+young_20117403.html) best. My son and husband prefer [Bob Dylan.](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob+dylan/forever+young_20021492.html) ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/45 "2010-06-15T15:43:07Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > People, please keep the SDMB rules on copyrights in mind. Unless you’re quoting something in the public domain (and I don’t think that applies to any of the songs or poems used here, although I admit I’m not positive), use no more than about five lines or one verse. Link to another site for the rest of the text. Thank you. Sorry - I thought that cutting out 80% of the song would satisfy those requirements. The famous bit’s cut out now. ☹ And it never occurred to me about Kipling and Thomas; I’d be amazed if Kipling was still in copyright but I guess Thomas still is. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/46 "2010-06-15T15:50:28Z")
I just checked - Kipling’s works are definitely out of copyright as he died in 1936. Thomas’s might be, but I’m not sure. I understand moderators not wanting to check each individual poem, though. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/47 "2010-06-15T16:00:10Z")
Life + 70 years for UK copyright, no? Thomas died in 1953 I believe, so Kipling just makes it and Thomas doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/48 "2010-06-15T17:27:31Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Life + 70 years for UK copyright, no? Thomas died in 1953 I believe, so Kipling just makes it and Thomas doesn’t. It’s not quite as simple as that, hence Thomas’s works _possibly_ being in copyright. They probably are under the 70 year rule too, but it’s not certain; the mods are right to err on the side of caution with his stuff. Kipling’s safe, though. Of course, when you hear old poems being used in ads it generally means they’ve just come out of copyright. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/49 "2010-06-15T17:46:08Z")
The nauseating “Watching Scotty Grow” by Bobby Goldsboro. It was put to good use on a _Simpsons_ episode where Homer and Bart enter a fighting robot competition. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/50 "2010-06-16T05:54:44Z")
Bnl’s **[When You Dream](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzzJZs--YZM)** ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/51 "2010-06-16T08:34:54Z")
I had never thought of “If” as being from a father to a son; I always took the “my son” at the end to be just a diminutive applied to a child by any wise adult. Have I got it wrong all these years? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/52 "2010-06-16T09:10:10Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I had never thought of “If” as being from a father to a son; I always took the “my son” at the end to be just a diminutive applied to a child by any wise adult. > > Have I got it wrong all these years? It can be interpreted either way. I prefer the literal father/son interpretation because the advice reminds me of Polonius and Laertes and also because Kipling was posh; I can’t imagine a posh person using ‘my son’ as a term of affection the way commoners do. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/53 "2010-06-16T09:17:09Z")
Yet another country number: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O3Y3LmpYboY/hqdefault.jpg "James & Brendan Quinn-Talkin' To The Wrong Man") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3Y3LmpYboY) You didn’t mention how old your ESL students are, but if they’re in their teens, they could get a chuckle from it. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/54 "2010-06-16T10:19:48Z")
> [@missred](#): > > Yet another country number: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3Y3LmpYboY&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3Y3LmpYboY&feature=related) > > You didn’t mention how old your ESL students are, but if they’re in their teens, they could get a chuckle from it. The boys and girls still sit at separate tables. The fear of “cooties” runs pretty deep in this land. They range from about 11-15. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/55 "2010-06-16T10:39:49Z")
Neil Young - [_Old Man_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcdSWfWSqGE) Commander Cody and The Lost Planet Airmen - [_Hot Rod Lincoln_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9QpDvhshOQ) CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Drew\_Kit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Drew\_Kit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drew_Kit)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/56 "2010-06-16T16:06:58Z")
Song for my Father - Angels of Light (Michael Gyra) When the warm wind blows through the corridors and tiled walls, There you are, the mad guardian of your empty room. Your memories were tortured by the scent of ocean through the halls and where was I, the one that you loved best ? Now show me how to hold the knife that cuts the page, to crucify the weakness and the guilt I use for faking strength. Now I remember, I crawled naked across the broken stage, and there was I, the child that brought us shame. So walk across the blood red ocean, Stand above the broken glass and concrete towers. In here I sleep, stoned guardian of my empty dream. Now I’ve become the child that neither of us knew. Thank God you never knew the things that I have done. Thank God you never saw the person I’ve come. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/57 "2010-06-16T16:10:56Z")
“Walk Like a Man” by Springsteen has been mentioned twice, but you could write a thesis based on all of the songs he’s written about his relationship with his father. Two great ones: “Independence Day” “My Father’s House” ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/58 "2010-06-16T17:20:28Z")
Peter Gabriel’s [Father and Son](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/peter-gabriel/father-son.html) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/59 "2010-06-16T17:26:15Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > “Walk Like a Man” by Springsteen has been mentioned twice, but you could write a thesis based on all of the songs he’s written about his relationship with his father. Two great ones: > > “Independence Day” > “My Father’s House” The topic is also explored tangentially in “[Used Cars](http://www.brucespringsteen.it/DB/sd3.aspx?sid=631)” ---
**Author:** ![breezman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@breezman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breezman)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129/60 "2010-06-17T03:46:47Z")
John Lennon’s Beautiful Boy is a great song that he wrote for his son. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-about-fathers-and-sons/543129.md?page=4)