Sunday, 29 September 2013

My Top Ten Father & Son Songs... That Do Mention Fathers and Sons In The Title


Coming up on week three and this is proving the hardest (albeit most rewarding) thing I've ever done in my life. Fortunately, I'm still taking lessons in fatherhood from my record collection...


10. Chicory Tip - Son of my Father

While I have a lot of time for a great deal of 70s chart guff... this hasn't aged particularly well. Yes, kids, there was a time when all pop stars dressed like Chicory Tip...

9. Joshua Kadison - My Father's Son
A fool thinks he ain't bought and sold
Cause every man sells a bit of his soul
To bring his family home some gold
Before he knows he's gotten old
Starting a new teaching year at the same time you become a parent isn't something I'd recommend to anyone... this reminds me why I'm doing it.

8. Hank Williams - My Son Calls Another Man Daddy

Let's not bring the milkman into this, Hank...

7. Gorkys Zygotic Mynci - Sometimes the Father Is the Son

 Gorgeous song from the Welsh weirdos. Reminiscent in many ways of this next gentleman...

6. Brian Wilson - The Child Is Father Of The Man

An off-cut from the legendary SMiLE sessions, finally released in 2004, made even more special by the fact that it serves here as an intro to Surf's Up, one of the greatest Brian Wilson / Van Dyke Parks songs ever.

5. The Gaslight Anthem - Our Father's Son

Remember b-sides? Remember when b-sides used to be as strong as some a-sides?

4. Queen - Father To Son

From the days when Queen were serious Led Zep fans.

3. Peter Gabriel - Father, Son

Heartbreaking.
Can you recall
How you took me to school
We couldn't talk much at all
It's been so many years
And now these tears
Guess I'm still your child

Out on the moors
We take a pause
See how far we have come
You're moving quite slow
How far can we go
Father and son
2. Father John Misty - Only Son of the Ladiesman

Maybe a little bit of a cheat but there's both a Father and a Son in the link above and this is just gorgeous. Not that my boy will ever have to worry about his old man being described in these terms...
Couldn't see his used up body at the funeral
By virtue of the flailing of his conquests
They tied down his casket with the garter belt
Each troubled heart was beating in a sequin dress
Someone must console these lonesome daughters
No written word or ballad will appease them
1. Johnny Cash - Father and Son

Written by Cat Stevens, ruined by Boyzone... resurrected and immortalised by JC (with a little help from Fiona Apple). I love the original, but this version just floors me...





"Daddy... why do you keep making Top Tens?"

So people will leave a comment, son.

4 comments:

  1. 'Son Of My Father' makes as much sense as any song directly translated from Italian. Still, it's a good time capsule about the state-of-the-art of synthesisers in 1972.

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    Replies
    1. Suddenly it makes more sense - from the days before babelfish!

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  2. I've been through my entire KJ collection and nothing fits. Suddenly despite their greatness they feel inadequate. And that is my contribution because that is how I often feel as a father. Apparently it's normal.

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  3. I've got a nasty cold, so I'm not at my most attentive...but surely Cat Stevens Father and Son deserves a place...number one perhaps?

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