Dad's Day MixTape

I came up with this idea because it felt unfair to do a Mother's Day but not one for Father's Day. But as I went through my iTunes library, hunting for songs about dads, I realized, excluding the country variety, (Like a million songs by George Straight,  "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim McGraw, etc,), or the Eric Clapton variety ("Tears in Heaven", "My Father's Eyes", etc,) there are not a lot of songs written about dads. However, out of he very limited field, I was able to find a few great ones. Here they are.

1. Hailie's Song- Eminem
I LOVE this song. First of all, he actually SINGS (not bad, by the way), and for once, he dishes the details on his personal life without just screaming bloody murder about his ex-wife or his mother. The way he shows how much he cares about his daughter is really moving. Yes, he couldn't resist to put in one line about how he's "got a wife determined to make my life a living hell", but when has he ever resisted getting a dig in on any member of his family?

2. Father and Son- Cat Stevens
My dad loves this song, but I had never heard of it before I started writing this blog, so I decided to listen to it, and I like it. It's the kind of song they play at the father/son bonding moment at the end of a Hallmark movie or a TV show where the hardened old man finally goes on that fishing trip he always promised and giving him a heart-to-heart chat about the meaning of life, but yet not totally overly sentimental and corny. 

3. Beautiful Boy- John Lennon
This song is worth it just for one of the BEST SONG LINES EVER:"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." John wrote this song after realizing that he ignored Julian his whole childhood and vowing to be better with Sean. While it must have been great for Sean to hear that song now, and to know how much his dad loved him, it must be a stab in the gut for Julian.

4. Father of Mine- Everclear
Like many of Everclear songs, Art Alexakis talks about what a sucky father he had, and how he left him and he ended up living in the projects of Portland, Oregon, which I'm not sure actually exists.This song documents the time-honored tradition lamenting  about your horrible life through song, a practice used by man over the years, including Eminem, Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, Trent Reznor,Billy Corgan, and many, many more.

5. Cat's Cradle-Harry Chapin
Well, this one is kind of obvious, but when the state heard I was writing a blog about Dads, they issued me a court-ordered statement saying I had to put this song on the list. I think this is this song is second only to "Tears in Heaven" (literally one of the most depressingly crushing sad songs ever) as the saddest songs of all tine. When he talks about how his boy is just like him, ignoring him all the time, that can make grow men cry in the way only that-and the movie Rudy-can.



This mixtape is dedicated to my dad. Happy Father's Day!
If you feel that I missed any, comment!