Don’t cry, daddy…

It’s Father’s Day today.

But somehow it does not seem to get as much attention as Mother’s Day. I was looking for a song for the occasion and found a few where the father had died including the very beautiful Luther Vandros’ “Dance with my father”. the Everly Brothers’ “Silver-haired daddy of mine” or even “Oh my papa” by Eddie Fisher…and in Paul Anka’s “Papa”, the mother had died.

There are others where the father is in conflict with his offspring, for example Cat Stevens’ “Father and son” of which Boyzone did a cover version and later Ronan Keating did a duet with the original singer, now named Yusuf Islam. Harry Chapin/Ugly Kid Joe’s “Cat’s in the cradle” is also along this same line, while there are songs for fathers in failed marriages like “Daddy, don’t you walk so fast” or Elvis Presley’s “Don’t cry, daddy” or Richard Harris’ “My boy”.

There is one song where the father’s an alcoholic – “Don’t sell daddy any more whisky” or some irresponsible bloke – “Papa was a rollin’ stone” and even for Christmas, they do not have very nice songs for daddies – “Please daddy, don’t get drunk this Christmas” and “Daddy, please be home for Christmas”, for instance.

Why is this so, we may ask? Is it because the traditional father had always been one who went out to work at dawn and returned home at dusk, the one who toiled to support the family, to put food on the table and earn money for everybody’s needs and wants? Is it because that in doing so, the traditional father had missed out on the bonding between parent and child? That consequently, the children ended being much closer to their mums?

And just when I was about to give up, I stumbled upon this very beautiful song by somebody called Teresa James that I thought would be ideal to share with everybody on this very special day…

Other than the song, there is also this video clip that some of you may have seen as I have posted it on Facebook sometime ago and I did provide the link in this earlier post, but I think this would be an appropriate occasion to share it with those of you who have yet to see it…

I love the closing line in the clip where the daughter said, “My father was a generous man beyond his means, but the greatest gift he ever gave me was the gift of love.” I showed my daughter this clip when she was home for the holidays and the expression on her face said it all – she was deeply touched emotionally and was holding back her tears.

My father may not express it in quite the same way, but the fact remains that deep in his heart, we are loved and that is indeed the greatest gift of all. No doubt this is nothing compared to all that he has done and is doing for us, all that he has given and still goes on giving us…but still I went out and bought him a cake for the occasion to wish him a Happy Father’s Day…

And if you’re a daddy, a Happy Father’s Day to you too…