# This Time I Don't Want to Embarass My Daughter **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512 "2013-12-30T21:20:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/61 "2013-12-31T16:17:20Z")
This might work for you, maybe not. [Teach Your Children Well](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_hYdywoV_Q), by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Little bit of country twang, not too fast or too slow, lyrics may be quite appropriate, beautiful song (IMO). Give it a listen, anyway. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/62 "2013-12-31T16:27:53Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > My Daughter’s planning her wedding for the Spring (maybe) and has informed me the father/daughter dance will be one that > > 1. I can dance to > 2. Is the first dance she remembers dancing > > It’s The Hokey-Pokey. I’ve found an uptempo version by Brave Combo that’ll do nicely. Dude, Little Richard has one rollicking version of the Hokey Pokey out there. Just saying. Shodan, what about going with the classics? Cole Porter’s ‘You’re the Top’? Alternately, skip the lyrics. I was at a wedding where the father-daughter dance used Glen Miller’s ‘In the Mood’. That went down gangbusters. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/63 "2013-12-31T16:41:50Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Thanks for the suggestions so far. > > I think it needs to have lyrics, and my daughter likes country music, so something from that genre might be good. That fits my earlier pick of [“I Loved Her First”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg8Z69B6RFQ). In case you haven’t watched the link yet, here’s some lyrics: > [@](#): > > Look at the two of you dancing that way, > Lost in the moment and each others face. > So much in love, you’re alone in this place > Like there’s nobody else in the world. > > I was enough for her not long ago. > I was her number one, she told me so, > And she still means the world to me, just so you know, > So be careful when you hold my girl. > > Time changes everything, life must go on, > And I’m not gonna stand in your way. > > But I loved her first, 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 still hard to give her away. > I loved her first. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/64 "2013-12-31T16:55:48Z")
Before my wedding I made my dad a CD with some father/daughter song suggestions and let him choose. I detest anything too sappy and we hired a band, so his choices were somewhat limited: “You are the Sunshine of My Life” - Stevie Wonder “Unforgettable” - Nat King and Natalie Cole “The Way You Look Tonight” - Tony Bennett “My Girl” - The Temptations “Have I Told You Lately” - Van Morrison “Stand By Me” - Ben E. King He ended up choosing “Unforgettable.” Our dance was so precious, and I’ll always treasure it now that he’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/65 "2013-12-31T17:02:06Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > My Daughter’s planning her wedding for the Spring (maybe) and has informed me the father/daughter dance will be one that > > 1. I can dance to > 2. Is the first dance she remembers dancing > > It’s The Hokey-Pokey. I’ve found an uptempo version by Brave Combo that’ll do nicely. 🆒 love it! personally I find the first dances with parent to be very awkward and uncomfortable for most, something that brings fun to it is preferred. schmaltzy waltzes are so painful to watch, mostly the dads want to get the hell off the dance floor asap. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/66 "2013-12-31T17:04:11Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZcRH2V\_Cfs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZcRH2V_Cfs) > > Daddy’s Little Girl this one sung by Michael Buble’ Ahh yes. Michael Buble’. If there was an award for the Ultimate Wedding Song Setlist he’d have to be the king of the list. My wife’s and my first dance wedding song was “Feelin’ Good” and when we see our priest he still talks about that being the best wedding song he’s ever heard at a wedding. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/67 "2013-12-31T17:06:29Z")
**Shodan** , congratulations. 🙂 Here are a couple of suggestions: [Turnaround.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCh13Rsd-WU) Very popular selection when the choir I sang with back in the 70s did a wedding. Sample set of lyrics: _Where are you going, my little one, little one, Little dirndls and petticoats, where have you gone? Turn around and you’re tiny, Turn around and you’re grown, Turn around and you’re a young wife with babes of your own. Turn around, turn around, Turn around and you’re a young wife with babes of your own._ Also, the song Meryl Streep sang in “Mamma Mia!” while she was helping Amanda Seyfried get dressed for her wedding, [Slippng Through My Fingers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTOl70SyT-4) Sample lyrics: _Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness And I have to sit down for a while The feeling that I’m losing her forever And without really entering her world I’m glad whenever I can share her laughter That funny little girl_ Unless crying during the father-daughter dance counts as “embarrassing” her. Then I guess you could wear earplugs and let her signal when the dance is over. 😃 Regards, **kaylasdad99** ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/68 "2013-12-31T17:07:03Z")
> [@chela](#): > > 🆒 love it! > > personally I find the first dances with parent to be very awkward and uncomfortable for most, something that brings fun to it is preferred. schmaltzy waltzes are so painful to watch, mostly the dads want to get the hell off the dance floor asap. When my wife and I got married, it was also the 50th wedding anniversary of her parents. Somehow, someone decided the ultimate father-daughter dance song should be Through the Years by Kenny Rogers. That’s a 4 1/2 minute song of me dancing with my future mother in law. Everyone was bored before it was over. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/69 "2013-12-31T17:10:29Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > My Daughter’s planning her wedding for the Spring (maybe) and has informed me the father/daughter dance will be one that > > 1. I can dance to > 2. Is the first dance she remembers dancing > > It’s The Hokey-Pokey. I’ve found an uptempo version by Brave Combo that’ll do nicely. I second the “your daughter is AWESOME” sentiment. My most-recently-married daughter (2 out of 6 now married) chose Cinderella (referenced above) for our dance. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/70 "2013-12-31T17:43:31Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > When my wife and I got married, it was also the 50th wedding anniversary of her parents. Somehow, someone decided the ultimate father-daughter dance song should be Through the Years by Kenny Rogers. That’s a 4 1/2 minute song of me dancing with my future mother in law. Everyone was bored before it was over. oh the agony! my second suggestion…cut it short, even better go for a medley that would wrap up under 2 minutes. I would then switch to couples first dance with the lemon song and you shook me all night long…😛 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/71 "2013-12-31T19:26:00Z")
I think when Jenna Bush got married a few years ago, the father/daughter song was “You Are So Beautiful To Me” (Joe Cocker). ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/72 "2013-12-31T21:27:40Z")
> [@Fionn](#): > > It was an interpretation I’d never thought of, but I thought it was adorable when I attended a wedding and the bride and her father danced to “My Girl” by the Temptations. My daughter got married this summer. “My Girl” was our father-daughter dance, and it was very sweet. Or, at least it was the first part of the father-daughter dance. We had worked up a “history of dance” style surprise number that no one knew was coming, except for my wife and the DJ … > [@YogSosoth](#): > > Gangnam Style. This song fits anywhere. … and _that’s_ what we closed with. Great fun! ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/73 "2013-12-31T23:12:41Z")
Perhaps Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game”. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/74 "2013-12-31T23:19:58Z")
Our parent dance (we did a medley of me with my dad and husband with his mom, then me with his dad and husband with my mom, while my dad danced with his mom, then everyone in “proper” couples) was [May Each Day](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsJ_bzYyrHw) by Andy Williams. It’s a nice, easy waltz, and the lyrics are appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/75 "2013-12-31T23:29:11Z")
Madonna’s [_Papa don’t preach_](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/madonna/papadontpreach.html) Paul Anka’s [_You’re having my baby_](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/paul+anka/youre+having+my+baby_20354202.html) Any of the songs from [over here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=576779). I’m not helping, am I? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/76 "2014-01-01T01:08:29Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Just go with “Sunrise Sunset”. Don’t overthink things. That’s my suggestion. Yet another advantage of being Jewish. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512/77 "2014-01-01T03:00:11Z")
[quote=“Shodan, post:1, topic:677512”] Being the sort of person she is, my daughter has already begun planning the wedding, and she informs me that my role will be twofold - [ul][li]Paying for all this, and [/li][li]Picking out a song for the daddy-daughter dance at the reception.[/ul]As you might expect, she is a woman who plans ahead.[/li][/QUOTE] Well, then she can plan to stick to a budget (a requirement for my daughter’s wedding). Oh, and there’s one thing you shouldn’t embarrass her (or yourself) with: > [@](#): > > Regards, > Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-time-i-dont-want-to-embarass-my-daughter/677512.md?page=3)