Tommy_Harn

I'm looking for some music that might strike a cord for me on the heels of my son's birth. The bad news is he came a few weeks early and he has been struggling with pnemonia and a few other complications. The great news is he's improved quite a bit over the last couple days and (knock on wood) we hope he's turned the corner and he'll keep getting better. The good news is I can listen to my iPod when I visit him in the NICU. I've learned that listening to music beats hearing the constant hum and beeping of monitors.

I have only found (or can think of) a few songs that fit the bill:

Beautiful Boy- John Lennon (Ben Harper cover is good too)
Still Fighting It- Ben Folds
Father to Son- Phil Collins (doesn't really do it for me)
When You Dream- BNL

I'm sure there are many more, some even that I know but haven't put together the association. Can you help?

Drexl

How about "My Darling" by Wilco, or maybe "Ooh Child" by the Five Stairsteps, which could apply to either a boy or a girl?

It seems there are more songs like this for girls. I would have recommended "Father and Daughter" by Paul Simon or "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder.

BTW, I hope he pulls through.

yojimbo44

Shawn Colvin - "Say a Little Prayer" - as a first time dad to be in a few months, every time i hear this i melt - not necessarily a dad and son song, but definitely a parent and child song.

hope everybody hangs in there.

DJLinus

Nil Lara - "My First Child"

His whole self-titled album's great, but that song always gets me (and I don't even have any kids!).

Looks like you can get it super cheap from Amazon Marketplace: http://www.amazon.com/Nil-Lara/dp/B000005GZ2

Pointyskull

Marshall Crenshaw - Someday, Someway

monkyskunk

Marc Cohn- Things We've Handed Down
Gary Allen- Tough Little Boys
Thank God for Kids- Oak Ridge Boys
Let Them Be Little- Billy Dean
With Arms Wide Open- Creed

[email protected]

Cats In The Cradle - Harry Chapin

And congratulations!

Daytripper

"Wires" by Athlete, hands down. Matches exactly what you're going through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uriGngTXyrE


Lyrics:

You got wires, coming out of your skin
You got tears, making tracks
I got tears, that are scared of the facts

Running, down corridors through, automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
I see hope is here, in a plastic box
I've seen christmas lights, reflect in your eyes

You got wires, going in
You got wires, coming out of your skin
There's dry blood, on your wrist
Your dry blood on my fingertip

Running, down corridoors through, automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
First night of your life, curled up on your own
Looking at you now, you would never know

I see it in your eyes, I see it in your eyes
You'll be alright
I see it in your eyes, I see it in your eyes
You'll be alright

Alright

Running, down corridors through, automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
I see hope is here, in a plastic box
I've seen christmas lights, reflect in your eyes
down corridors, through automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
First night of your life, curled up on your own
Looking at you now, you would never know.

cungar

Father of Mine by Everclear

Father of mine
Tell me where have you been
You know I just closed my eyes
My whole world disappeared
Father of mine
Take me back to the day
When I was still your golden boy
Back before you went away
I remember the blue skies,
walking the block
I loved it when you held me high
I loved to hear you talk
You would take me to the movie
You would tke me to the beach
Take me to a place inside that
is so hard to reach
Father of mine
Tell me where did you go
You had the world inside your hand
But you did not seem to know
Father of mine
Tell me what do you see
When you look back at your
wasted life and you don't
see me
I was ten years old
Doing all that i could
It wasn't easy for me to
be a scared white boy in a
black neighborhood
Sometimes you would send
me a birthday card
With a five dollar bill
I never understood you then and
I guess I never will
Daddy gave me a name
My dad he gave me a name
Then he walked away
Daddy gave me a name
Then he walked away
My dad gave me a name
Father of mine
Tell me where have you been
I just closed my eyes
And the world disappeared
Father of mine
Tell me how do you sleep
With the children you abandoned
And the wife I saw you beat
I will never be safe
I will never be sane
I will always be weird inside
I will always be lame
Now I am a grown man
With a child of my own
And I swear I'm not
going to let her know
All the pain I have known
Then he walked away
Daddy gave me a name
Then he walked away
My dad gave me a name
Then he walked away

orangecrush

I don't think these lyrics are what this new father is looking for.

Darth Maher

"Green (Welcome to the World)" by Sister Hazel from their album Lift.

Kinda upbeat, but I like it.

FrozenMetalHead

My daughter Zoe was born at 25-weeks gestation and spent the first 5 months in the NICU. She was on a ventilator for 4 of those months before finally being trached. She had the trache for almost 2 years. She's now your everyday 4 year old girl.

Anyways, because just breathing was such a big deal for her, Sia's "Breathe Me" really grabbed me with the lyrics:I also remember the absolute overwhelming relief I felt blasting a live version of Pearl Jam's "Alive" driving between home and the hospital during that first week. I know the song really has nothing to do with that - but just hearing the chorus near the end and the crowds "Yeah" chants was great.

Dixie Chicks "Lullaby" (excellent) and "Godspeed" (not bad) are also pretty good.

cgray

Congratulations, Tommy. I'll be thinking of you and your son. I'm the proud father of a five month old boy.

After finding out it was a boy, but before he was born, I heard "Daughter" by Loudon Wainwright III. It a song reflecting about the fact that everything his daughter knows how to do came from him (or, in a broader sense, his family).

My emotions didn't seem to care that I was having a boy--this song really stuck with me. I've never been very versed in Mr. Wainwright's music... but I encourage you to check out the song.

Again, congratulations. You have a lot of friendly people and resources on this board for whatever you need.

TGM

Living Years by Mike + The Mechanics

starman9000

A great pair for me was Father and Son by Cat Stevens and Fight Test by the Flaming Lips, which kind of works as a sequal, as the tune is very similar (they had to pay royalties).

I also love "Daughter" as cgray mentioned.


Congrats and good luck to you, we just had our first son a couple of months ago and it's been a blast. I'm glad to hear that he his getting better, that is such a tough thing to go through.

DJLinus

Speaking of Loudon Wainwright III, if you want a little humor, his "Bein' a Dad" (from his Little Ship album) is great:

Bein' a dad isn't so bad
Except that you gotta feed 'em
You gotta shoe 'em and clothe 'em
And try not to loathe 'em
Bug 'em and hug 'em and heed 'em

Bein' a dad can sure make you mad
Man it even can drive you crazy
It's as hard as it looks
You gotta read them dumb books
And you end up despising Walt Disney

Bein' a dad starts to get radical
When they turn into teenagers
You gotta tighten the screws
Enforce the curfews
Confiscate weapons and pagers

But a daughter and son
Can be sort of fun
Just as long as they don't defy you
They'll treat you like a king
They'll believe anything
They're easy to frighten and lie to

Bein' a dad (bein' a dad)
Bein' a dad (bein' a dad)
Bein' a dad can make you feel glad
When you get paperweights and aftershave lotions
Yeah it feels pretty great when they graduate
That's when you're choked with emotions

But bein' a dad takes more than a tad of
Good luck and divine intervention
You need air-tight alibis
Fool proof disguises
Desperation's the father of invention

So sometimes you take off
For a few rounds of golf
And you stay away for half of their lifetimes
The result of it all is
You're captured and hauled up
Before a tribunal for dad crimes

Bein' a dad (bein' a dad)
Bein' a dad (bein' a dad)
Bein' a dad can make you feel sad
Like you're the insignificant other
Yeah right from the start
They break your heart
In the end every kid wants his mother

Bein' a dad (bein' a dad)

I will third "Daughter" - it's a great song. If you want more than one version, Peter Blegvad did the original.

One other (off topic) suggestion: if you are ever in the market for a lullaby CD, I can't recommend Jason Falkner's Bedtime with the Beatles enough. It's just a bunch of low-key Beatles instrumentals. I don't have a kid, but I do have this CD. It's very relaxing.

wanderlust

Five for Fighting - 100 years. the song always strike a chord with me.

Tommy_Harn

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm happy to report that Jack is doing much better. Daytripper's suggestion, "Wires" by Athelete, pretty much nailed how I felt the first few days he was sick. I'm not sure I would have been able to listen to the song this time last week. Pretty powerful stuff. Thanks again!

madcougar

I remember listenting to With Arms Wide Open by Creed when my wife was pregnant with my son. Being 30 at the time I had come to grips with many of my shortcomings. For this reason the lyrics kinda struck a chord with me:

If I had just one wish
Only one demand
I hope he's not like me
I hope he understands
That he can take this life
And hold it by the hand
And he can greet the world
With arms wide open...

Glad to report that eight years later it seems I didn't pass along some of my worst qualities (bad temper, hate for all mankind, weak throwing skills, no ass).

Jacoby Ellsbury

Lauryn Hill - To Zion

eminem - My dad's gone crazy

Atmosphere - In her music box

Puddle of Mudd - Blurry

Staind - Zoe Jane

Norm de Plume

The perfect song for a new father is Cat Stevens's "The Boy with the Moon and Star on his Head" from his Catch Bull at Four album. It's beautiful, if you can abide the religious overtones.

Drexl

So, do his female classmates compliment him on his ass?

Turd Ferguson

I like Semisonic's "Closing Time":

Closing time - time for you to go out, go out into the world.
Closing time - turn the lights up over every boy and every girl.
Closing time - one last call for alcohol, so finish your whiskey or beer.
Closing time - you don't have to go home but you can't stay here.

I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
Take me home...

Closing time - time for you to go back to the places you will be from.
Closing time - this room won't be open 'til your brothers or you sisters
come.
So gather up your jackets, and move it to the exits - I hope you have found
a
friend.
Closing time - every new beginning comes from some other beginning'send.

Yeah, I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
Take me home...

Closing time - time for you to go back to the places you will be from...

I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
Take me home...

Closing time - every new beginning comes from some other beginning'send...

NZ_DVD_Freak

I've always thought David Bowie's Kooks would be good if/when I have a kid...

[CHORUS (x2)]
Will you stay in our Lovers' Story
If you stay you won't be sorry
'Cause we believe in you
Soon you'll grow so take a chance
With a couple of Kooks
Hung up on romancing

We bought a lot of things
to keep you warm and dry
And a funny old crib on which the paint won't dry
I bought you a pair of shoes
A trumpet you can blow
And a book of rules
On what to say to people
when they pick on you
'Cause if you stay with us you're gonna be pretty Kookie too

[CHORUS]

And if you ever have to go to school
Remember how they messed up
this old fool
Don't pick fights with the bullies
or the cads
'Cause I'm not much cop at punching other people's Dads
And if the homework brings you down
Then we'll throw it on the fire
And take the car downtown

freshticles

The best song ever

'ooh child' - the five stairsteps