Birthday Songs for Dad
Thirty-four birthday songs for a father. The hard part is not the songs, it is that he has told everybody he does not want anything and half means it. A song solves that better than an object does, because he cannot put it in a drawer.
Updated September 202634 songs
Ten written about fathers
- My Old ManZac Brown Band · 2017
The modern one, and the one younger families ask for. Plain language, no grandeur, nothing to flinch at.
- Leader of the BandDan Fogelberg · 1981
Written for his father, a bandmaster. For a man whose work was the thing he handed down.
- Dance with My FatherLuther Vandross · 2003
Vandross wrote it about his own father, who died when he was seven. Very heavy for a birthday — know why you are choosing it.
- Father and SonCat Stevens · 1970
Two generations talking past each other. Funny and painful in whatever proportion your family supplies.
- Watching YouRodney Atkins · 2006
A small boy copying his father, swearing included. Funny first, moving second, which is the right order.
- Simple ManLynyrd Skynyrd · 1973
A parent’s advice to a child. Playing it back to him is a way of saying it landed.
- The Living YearsMike + The Mechanics · 1988
About things unsaid to a father. Powerful and risky — it can read as an accusation if the room is wrong.
- My Father’s EyesEric Clapton · 1998
For a father someone never really knew. Quieter and stranger than the obvious choices.
- Old ManNeil Young · 1972
A young man realising he is becoming an older one. For a father whose son has just become one.
- Humble and KindTim McGraw · 2016
A list of rules for being decent. If they were his rules, this is them set to music.
The man who wants nothing
A large share of fathers genuinely do not want another object, and say so every year until everyone believes them. What they usually do want is evidence of attention, which is a different thing and much harder to buy. A song is unusually good at this because it cannot be re-gifted, stored or politely used once — it just exists, and the fact that somebody chose it is the entire content.
Pick from his shelf rather than from the father-and-son canon. Most of the famous songs about fathers are about complicated ones, absent ones or dead ones, and playing “Dance with My Father” at a living man’s sixty-fifth is a strange move that people make constantly. If his relationship with you is fine, choose something he loves and let that be the message.
Get the decade right, and go earlier than instinct suggests. A father turning sixty-five in 2026 was young around 1980. The music you associate with him is probably what he played while you were a child, which is already a decade after the records that formed him. Ask his brother or an old friend if you are not sure.
On delivery: most fathers do not perform emotion well in front of a room. Send it in the morning, or play it in the car with just the two of you, rather than putting it on at a party. He will listen to it four more times when nobody is watching, which is the outcome you actually want.
By where the song comes from
The records he already owns
From his own shelf, and the safest category on this page. A song he loves says you were paying attention.
- Thunder RoadBruce Springsteen · 1975
About being young and wanting out of somewhere. Play it to a man of sixty and watch what happens.
- Free Fallin’Tom Petty · 1989
A whole room will sing the chorus without being asked. Reliable at any birthday past forty.
- Ring of FireJohnny Cash · 1963
For a father who is not solemn. It will make the room laugh, which is allowed.
- Piano ManBilly Joel · 1973
Everyone knows the words and nobody has to be asked twice. Good an hour into a party.
- Georgia on My MindRay Charles · 1960
For a father who left somewhere and has talked about it ever since.
- Sixteen TonsTennessee Ernie Ford · 1955
About work that takes everything. For a man who did that kind and made a joke of it.
- Fly Me to the MoonFrank Sinatra · 1964
The version everyone means when they say the title. Light enough for the early part of the evening.
- Take It EasyEagles · 1972
For a father whose entire philosophy is in the title. He will not say anything and he will play it again.
From a son
Sons and fathers deflect at each other. Send it privately, in the morning, with nothing attached.
- Lean on MeBill Withers · 1972
Direct without being soft. One of the few sincere songs men reliably accept from each other.
- The WeightThe Band · 1968
About taking a load off someone. For a father who did that quietly and never mentioned it.
- My WishRascal Flatts · 2006
Usually sent downwards from parent to child. Sending it up is unexpected and works.
- Times Like TheseFoo Fighters · 2002
Loud enough that it does not feel like being handled. For a father having a hard year.
- Danny’s SongLoggins and Messina · 1971
Warm and unfussy. Especially good if you have just made him a grandfather.
- Stand by MeBen E. King · 1961
A promise about presence rather than about feelings, which is the version most men can take.
- Bridge Over Troubled WaterSimon & Garfunkel · 1970
The largest thing you can say. Save it for a year when it is true.
- PhotographEd Sheeran · 2015
Send it with a picture of the two of you when you were six. That is the whole move.
From a daughter
Daughters get more latitude with fathers than sons do. You can be direct and he will let you.
- My GirlThe Temptations · 1964
The father-and-daughter song that will not make anybody cry. Three minutes and everyone knows it.
- Isn’t She LovelyStevie Wonder · 1976
Playing back the song he probably played about you. The reversal is the gift.
- UnforgettableNatalie Cole with Nat King Cole · 1991
A daughter singing with her father across twenty-six years. The idea is worth more than the recording.
- The BestTina Turner · 1989
Unsubtle and completely sincere. For a sixtieth, loudly, with the whole room in.
- You’ve Got a FriendCarole King · 1971
For a father who has become a friend, which tends to happen somewhere around your thirtieth.
- True ColorsCyndi Lauper · 1986
For a father who has spent a long time being what everyone needed.
- Forever YoungBob Dylan · 1974
A blessing rather than a birthday song, and gentler than Rod Stewart’s version.
- Sweet CarolineNeil Diamond · 1969
The last song of the night. Both of you will do the shouted part without discussing it.
Three demonstration songs
What a song about your father sounds like
We wrote these from made-up answers to the same five questions you would fill in. They are not customer work. For a man who says he wants nothing, this is the rare gift that is entirely made of attention.
Make his song- Ruth’s Yellow KitchenCountry · a grandmother who fed everyone who came to the door3:39
- Marcus at FortyPop · written to be funny, at a friend’s request3:00
- Nadia for Our First DanceR&B · a first dance, written about the two of them3:18
How it works
Three steps. The first one is the only hard part.
- 1Tell the storyFive questions. Who it’s for, the occasion, three details only you two know, the feeling you want, and the names that have to be in it.
- 2Pick the soundCountry, pop, acoustic, R&B, gospel or rock. A man’s voice or a woman’s.
- 3Listen, then unlockA 30-second preview in about two minutes. Pay only if you love it. You get the full song, the lyrics, and a page you can send.
Common questions
- What do you get a dad who says he wants nothing?
- Evidence of attention rather than an object. A song cannot be re-gifted, stored or politely used once — the fact that somebody chose it is the whole content, which is exactly what a man who wants nothing actually wants.
- What is a good birthday song for a father?
- “My Old Man” if you want something written about fathers, and something from his own shelf if you want it to land. Most of the famous father songs are about complicated or absent ones — check that yours fits before you use it.
- What should a son send his dad?
- Something sincere, sent privately in the morning. “Lean on Me” and “The Weight” both work between men without either of you having to acknowledge it afterwards.
- How do I work out which music he actually loves?
- Go back to when he was between sixteen and twenty-two, which is usually a decade earlier than the music you associate with him. If you cannot place it, his brother or an old friend will name it instantly.
- Can I get a birthday song written about my dad?
- Yes. Answer five questions about him — his name, the birthday, three things only your family knows, the feeling you want and the music he likes — and you will hear a 30-second preview in about two minutes. The full song is $19.