Your father has played an important role in your life. Whether it’s his birthday, your wedding, or some other occasion, discover sweet and meaningful songs about and for dads to play on a special day. These songs for dads capture all the nostalgia, gratitude, and even the bittersweet feelings you might experience about your father.
Heartfelt Songs About Dads
These dad songs are perfect to express your feelings about your father, whether you’re reminiscing about your childhood, celebrating your dad, or reflecting on being a father yourself. Tell dad – or your own children – just how much you value this important bond.
Wind Beneath My Wings
Have you ever told your dad he’s your hero? If not, this song should do the trick. It might seem cheesy at first, but when you really dwell on the lyrics, you might find they apply to the admiration you have for dear old dad.
Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel)
Billy Joel wraps fatherhood up in a sweet and simple expression here. For celebrating dad and expressing your own fatherhood experience, this soft song feels like a gentle anthem for dads everywhere.
Drive
This is a full-circle song for fathers, sons, and daughters. Alan Jackson paints a nostalgic picture of one of life’s biggest milestones, learning to drive with your dad. By the end of the country tune, he’s sharing his hopes of having those same memories with his own daughters.
Father to Son
If your dad loves rock music from his younger years, this Queen classic is a great choice for celebrating what he means to you. Send this to him and tell him how glad you are to call him Dad and that you’re grateful for how he taught you to appreciate rock music.
My Father’s Eyes
It’s a surreal experience to step into the role of dad when you still feel you need your own dad to walk you through life’s obstacles. Eric Clapton describes those feelings perfectly in My Father’s Eyes. Celebrate your dad while celebrating your own fatherhood journey with this classic.
Arms Wide Open
Speaking of the fatherhood journey, this Creed hit might also help you express those feelings of fear, overwhelm, and undying love you feel as a dad. This jam is great for expecting dads, new dads, and celebrating your own dad.
Good, Good Father
Though Chris Tomlin originally wrote and performed this gospel song as a worship ballad, you could certainly play it for your father. Let it be an encouragement to you if you’re estranged from your biological father or if you have fears about your fatherhood journey.
Spaceship
This beat from Andy Grammer is addictively catchy and just plain adorable. For an expecting dad or just to celebrate how your own dad must have felt at the news of your coming birth, this one is fun and emotional at the same time.
He Didn’t Have to Be
If you are grateful for a strong relationship with your stepfather or even an uncle or grandfather who stepped up in your life, this is a beautiful song for celebrating that gratitude. Brad Paisley’s country music style gives this father figure tribute a down-home vibe.
Your Joy
Chrisette Michele beautifully expresses how no one loves quite like a dad. Though you may be all grown up now, this song speaks of how you’ll always be your father’s joy.
Songs About Fathers & Daughters
The father and daughter relationship is definitely special, and there are countless songs that portray the complexities of the dynamic. These songs about fathers and daughters help you celebrate being a daddy’s girl. For dads, these songs express what it feels like to fall in love with your first little girl.
Isn’t She Lovely
Stevie Wonder perfectly sums up that overwhelming love a dad feels when he sees his baby girl for the very first time and how that adoration deepens. This song is a sweet celebration of the heart of a girl-dad and how one precious little girl can change his life forever.
My Girl
The classic daddy-daughter dance song from The Temptations is celebrates that sweet bond between a dad and his little girl. Though the lyrics aren’t explicitly about a father’s feelings for his daughter, any dad would agree that the words in this song are an accurate description of what it feels like to love a daughter.
There Goes My Life
Even if your dad isn’t a country guy, he might relate to the lyrics in Kenny Chesney’s hit about becoming a father and then watching your little girl grow up. From fear, to happiness, and even some sadness, this song explains what it feels like to become a dad unexpectedly and then see your little girl become a woman in the blink of an eye.
Daddy’s Baby Girl
Jimmy Needham’s catchy tune about finding himself wrapped around the tiny finger of a sweet little girl is a sweet tribute to any daddy-daughter relationship. Your dad might sing this folksy song for days as he thinks about his own little girl.
Daddy
Beyonce celebrates how there is no one quite like dad with this beat. Support, understanding, and security are the core dad characteristics she showcases here, and she expresses how grateful she is for having a loving father.
Unforgettable
Talk about the perfect dad and daughter song. Nat King Cole and his daughter Natalie Cole come together in a virtual duet for a father-daughter song that’s simple, elegant, and so sweet in this context.
Daughters
John Mayer, with his typical soft vocals, inspires fathers everywhere with a song about the importance of being good to their daughters. Slow paced and easy to listen to, this song is a beautiful reminder to dads.
Sweet Child O’ Mine
This Guns N’ Roses rock classic doesn’t convey a specific father and daughter relationship, but the lyrics could certainly allude to such. For dads celebrating how much they adore their daughters, this 1987 hit does a great job of expressing that relationship.
Songs About Fathers & Sons
The father and son dynamic is a complex relationship with many stages and layers. These father-son songs about sons or by sons will help you tell dear old dad how much he means to you and how grateful you are for everything he’s taught you over the years.
Watching You
If you’ve looked up to your dad for your entire life and always hoped to be just like him, this song will tell him exactly how you feel. Rodney Atkins gives a catchy country reminder of how much little boys observe their dads and try to be just like them.
Just the Two Of Us
Will Smith’s words in this song about the heavy responsibility that falls on the shoulders of a dad also sweetly describe the overwhelming and selfless feelings a father has for his little boy. Tell your son or your dad that it’s you and him against the world with this meaningful song.
Love Without End, Amen
George Strait tells the story of seeing his father’s softer side in this country classic. The song arcs to his own experience of becoming a dad to a mischievous little boy that he adored endlessly. For dads and sons, this song is a gentle reminder that love guides every dad’s heart.
My Father’s House
If your relationship with your dad is complicated and distant, this somber Bruce Springsteen song might perfectly describe all the feelings you have about that relationship. Give it a listen as you work through those tough emotions.
Songs About a Dad Who Have Passed On
If you’re grieving the loss of your dad, there are quite a few songs that might express how you feel when reflecting on him. The heartbreak, the nostalgia, and all the values he taught you come together in complicated feelings. These songs will help you remember and celebrate him even though you aren’t able to be together.
Tears in Heaven
Though Eric Clapton wrote this heart-wrenching song for his late son, the lyrics can also apply to the heartbreak of celebrating a father who has passed on. Maybe this song can offer you comfort and hope during moments of grief and sadness.
Daddy’s Hands
Though this song very much applies to a dad still with you, it holds more weight for a dad you’ve said goodbye to. With a list of all the things dads do, provide, and teach, this Holly Dunn ballad is melancholy and celebratory all at the same time.
You’ll Be in My Heart
Phil Collins really brought the fire with this song originally composed for Disney’s animated feature, Tarzan. The lyrics in this song are both encouraging and bittersweet. Keep your dad close to your heart with this beautiful ballad.
He Lives in You
Leave it to Disney to turn a kid’s movie scene into a tear-jerking moment for adults. This song from The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride is a reminder of how our lost loved ones live on in our memories, reflections, and the values they’ve taught us.
Dance With My Father
Okay, you might seriously need some tissues for this one. Luther Vandross paints a beautiful picture of his father’s memory while expressing the deep longing that many people experience after their dad has passed.
My Old Man
Zac Brown Band builds up to a bittersweet ending with this tribute to fathers. This song helps you reflect on all the ways your dad supported you, taught you how to be a good parent, and how much you look forward to seeing him again some day.
Dad Songs for Kids
If you’re looking to help young children celebrate their dad, these songs will help them tell dad how special he is. Kid-friendly songs are an easy way to help little ones give a tribute to their dad.
You’ve Got a Friend In Me
It’s a nostalgic and unforgettable song from Disney Pixar’s Toy Story. Your children may recognize it as part of their favorite animated movie series, but their dad might hear the lyrics with a new perspective.
If I Didn’t Have You
Here’s another Disney Pixar song that your kids will recognize and could easily apply to how they feel about their dad. The fun song from Monsters Inc. might help your child tell dad just how much his friendship and guidance in life is valued.
My Dad Is a Hero
For the kids that truly believe their dad must be a superhero, this sweet little song is a fun gift to give him from kiddos. Sing this song for dad and tell him how you suspect he must be fighting crime on the side since he’s so strong and wonderful.
Show Dad How Much You Care
These songs tell your dad how much you appreciate and love him, whether he’s near or far away. Play these dad-focused songs while you’re thinking of him or go a step further and send (or even play them!) so he can listen to the song that perfectly describes how you feel about him.
