For your dad
He showed up to every game and every move and never once said it out loud. Neither did you.
A song for dad: a classic to play him, or one about him
Dads are hard to shop for and easy to surprise with a song about themselves. Give us the fishing trips, the bad jokes and the advice you ignored, and his name lands in the chorus.
Hear the second a name lands
Nguyen, you are the anchor of my life.
You wrote“He still calls me kiddo.”
The song singsI'm still your kiddo, my dear Nguyen.
From a real song made here: “My Anchor, Nguyen”, for Nguyen, from what his daughter typed.
The moment you give it
He answers from the garage with the radio on. He turns it off without being asked. When the verse gets to the thing he taught you, the line goes quiet in a way you have never heard from him.
Saturday morning, 8:15
Dad
On speaker
“Got a minute? I want you to hear something.”
Start with one memory
Pick a question. The form opens with your first line already started.
Songs for dad people already play
Country, folk and a little hip-hop: these are the songs most often chosen for fathers. Pick one, or make one with his name below.
| Song | Artist | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Daddy's Hands | Holly Dunn | Remembering what his hands did for you |
| Father and Son | Cat Stevens | A conversation between generations |
| Just the Two of Us | Will Smith | A dad singing to his son |
| Butterfly Kisses | Bob Carlisle | Dads and daughters |
| Watching You | Rodney Atkins | A dad and the kid copying him |
| Cat's in the Cradle | Harry Chapin | A gentle reminder to make time |
| Daddy Lessons | Beyoncé | What he taught you, with a Texas swing |
| Humble and Kind | Tim McGraw | The advice he always gave |
A real song made for a dad
"My Anchor, Nguyen" came from a few lines about a taxi driver who never missed a game.
What you get for $12.99
You hear it first, free. You pay once, only if you keep it.
- Free preview
- The first 60 seconds, ready in about two minutes after you enter your email. No card.
- The song
- The full song, about two minutes long, as an MP3 to download and keep.
- Lyrics
- Every line is on the preview page before you pay. Unlocking adds the lyric sheet, to print or save as a PDF.
- Their link
- A private link that plays the whole song without an account, with your name and a short note. Switch it off any time.
- Photo video
- Free: a vertical 9:16 photo video of your photos with the lyrics on screen, plus 15- and 30-second cuts. Made in your browser.
- The name
- Unusual name? Type how to say it (SEER-sha for Saoirse) and the singer says it that way.
- Re-record
- One free re-record per song: change a line, the style or the voice and record it again.
- Name sung wrong?
- After you pay, a free remake with the name fixed, once per song.
- Languages
- Sung in English, German, French, Spanish or Japanese.
- Teaser
- Before you pay, a 15-second teaser link that tells them a song is on its way.
- For this song
- Family in another country? Pick the language they speak at home in the form, and the whole song, chorus and name included, is sung in it.
What to tell us about him
- The job he did, and what it cost him.
- A skill he taught you, like changing a tire or casting a line.
- The joke he tells every single holiday.
- A game, recital or move he showed up for.
- His car, his chair, his tools: the objects that are unmistakably him.
- What you understand about him now that you are older.
Why country often suits a dad
Country songs are built for stories: a place, a truck, a lesson learned the hard way. Our Father's Day sample is country for that reason. If your dad prefers soul or folk, pick that instead, because the details matter more than the genre.
Plenty of people look for a love song for father and stop because it feels hard to say out loud; three short memories are enough for us to start.
For example
That is a whole song: work, a place and a phrase.
- He worked double shifts and still coached my Little League team.
- He taught me to fish at the lake behind Grandpa's house.
- He still introduces me to his friends as the boss.
Giving it to him
Plenty of dads say very little the first time they hear a song about themselves. Play it in the car or after dinner, then make sure the MP3 is on his phone so he can listen again when nobody is watching.
If your dad is hard to read
Some fathers show love by fixing things, driving people places or quietly paying for dinner. Write those acts down rather than feelings you would have to guess at. A line like 'you changed my oil every winter' tells him you saw what he was doing, even if neither of you ever said it.