At Around Town Entertainment, we love a parent (or grandparent!) dance, whether it’s a Father/Daughter, Mother/Son, Mother/Daughter, Father/Son, or any other combination that makes the most sense for you and your family on your special day. In a day filled with and centered around a celebration of romantic love that will last forever, this moment stands apart; Highlighting instead the everlasting love of the people who raised you. Touching, often tear-jerking, this is a moment we know your parents have looked forward to since the day you were born.
We’ve written before about some of our favorite songs to play for these dances, or ways to pick out the song you’d like to dance to for this moment, but today we want to touch on something different. Despite how common this moment is in weddings across the country, there are a surprisingly limited number of songs written to suit its purpose. Even worse, there are a surprising number of songs that sound like they COULD work for your dance with your parent, but we promise they don’t. Don’t believe us? We’ve taken the liberty of listing some songs below that seem, at first glance, like they could work, and then we’ve detailed why they’re maybe not the best choice.
Van Morrison’s ‘Brown-Eyed Girl’
Fathers and brown-eyed daughters love to suggest this one, but let’s start with some of the opening lyrics, shall we?
“Making love in the green grass,
Behind the stadium with you,
My brown-eyed girl.”
…we think our point is made.
‘I’ll Always Love My Mama’ by The Intruders
The opening line of this song quite literally goes:
“I’ll always love my mama,
She’s my favorite girl”
While the song goes on to talk about how mothers bring us into this world and sacrifice left and right for their children, we think it’s in poor taste to dance to a song on your wedding day that loudly proclaims that your mom is your favorite girl… when you just married your wife. That said, if a wife doesn’t feature in your couple, this song could still be considered appropriate!
At first listen, this song seems sweet – and the title quite literally involves the word “daughter.” But John Mayer has talked openly about how the song is written as a cautionary tale, saying he wrote it because he thought women didn’t receive enough love from their fathers, which impacted their ability to show love in romantic relationships later in life.
Additionally, the lyrics “girls become lovers, who turn into mothers” is maybe a little more suggestive than any father wants to be about his daughter’s nocturnal activities with her new spouse.
‘Butterfly Kisses,’ by Bob Carlisle
Despite being known as one of the more iconic father-daughter dance songs, “Butterfly Kisses” could be one to avoid. Yes, the lyrics are remarkably sweet, but some might find them to be a little too sweet, especially if your relationship with your dad isn’t regularly filled with deep sentimentality. Determining the right song for your moment is highly subjective, and this one just might not be it. It also focuses heavily on a father’s sadness to be saying “goodbye” to his “little girl” as she grows up – and your wedding is a day of celebration!
We love country music for its frequently thoughtful and emotional qualities, which make it a popular genre for weddings! But if you’re thinking about this Kane Brown song for your father-daughter dance, we recommend finding something else. Lyrics like:
“Lyin’ next to you, in this bed with you, I ain’t convinced’
Cause, I don’t know how, I don’t know how heaven, heaven
Could be better than this”
…aren’t the most appropriate for this reception moment with your parent.
‘Every Breath You Take,’ by The Police
“Every smile you fake/Every claim you stake/I’ll be watching you”
Can you say creepy? This song has been pretty universally acknowledged as uncomfortable and stalker-ish; Sting himself admitted he wrote it about a very jealous and obsessive love he had for someone. There’s just no denying that it’s probably one of the worst parent dance songs. No one wants their parent, or their new in-laws for that matter, to be “watching” them every step they take, every move they make and every vow they break!
There are plenty of songs out there that DO work for a dance with your mom or dad, though! Our best advice is to think of songs that were meaningful to you growing up, or that bring a special moment to mind. Then, and this is the important part, look up the lyrics. A lot of people hear the chorus of a song and fall in love with it – and they forget to check the verses for the lyrics that could get them into trouble! No matter what you choose, Around Town’s award-winning live bands have this special moment covered, but we definitely recommend choosing something that won’t have your guests blushing for all the wrong reasons!
