Non-sappy father/daughter dance songs
Reception Advice
By
on June 20, 2007
321 Responses
I've spent the last two days scouring the 'net for a father/daughter dance for our wedding reception, and frankly, virtually every suggestion I've come across has a title that makes me throw up in my mouth a little like "Daddy's Little Girl" or "Butterfly Kisses."
I'm not opposed to sentimental songs but perhaps none with the bride=angel/child/doll theme I can't seem to get away from. He's a 60s/70s Classic/Southern rock kinda guy. There's gotta be something out there about years going by, getting older, moving on… I just can't seem to find it. This is one of the few traditions we're actually keeping, so I'd like to find something right for us. —Sharon
Yeah, nothing like the creepy incest themes that seem to come up with father/daughter dances, hmm? That's part of why I skipped the tradition, but I do agree that with the right song it can be a nice moment. Here are a few non-icky song ideas pulled from all kinds of sources including the many, many, many suggestions in the comments:
Classic rock ballads and harder rock for those rockin' dads:
- Led Zepplin's "Thank You" (hear it)
- Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" (hear it)
- Rolling Stones' "She's a Rainbow" (hear it)
- The Cars' "Just What I Needed" (hear it)
- Warrant's "Heaven" (hear it)
- Neil Young's "Here for You" (hear it)
- Bruce Springsteen's "When You Need Me" (hear it)
- Queen's "You're My Best Friend" (hear it)
- Guns and Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" (hear it)
- Staind's "Zoe Jane" (hear it)
- Tom Petty's "American Girl" (hear it)
Contemporary sentimental, but not overdone (yet!):
- Loudon Wainwright's "Daughter" (hear it)
- Five for Fighting's "100 Years" (hear it)
- World Party's "She's the One" (hear it)
- 10,000 Maniacs' "How You've Grown" (hear it)
- Natalie Merchant's "Kind And Generous" (hear it)
- The Cary Brothers' "Blue Eyes" (hear it)
- Wilco's "My Darling" (hear it)
- Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" (hear it)
- Amos Lee's "Sweet Pea" (hear it)
- Eva Cassidy's "True Colors" (hear it)
Softer rock classics (when you want to rock, but also keep it purty):
- Tom Petty's "Wildflowers" (hear it)
- Bad English's "When I See You Smile" (hear it)
- Journey's "Lights" (hear it)
- Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" (hear it)
- Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" (hear it)
- Carol King's "Child of Mine" (hear it)
- The Byrds' "Turn, Turn, Turn" (hear it)
- Paul Simon's "Father and Daughter" (hear it) or "You Can Call Me Al" (hear it)
- Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" (hear it)
- James Taylor's "You've Got A Friend" (hear it)
- Joe Cocker's "Darling Be Home Soon" (hear it)
- Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird" (hear it) or "Landslide" (hear it)
- The Beatles' "Across the Universe" (hear it) or Rufus Wainwright's version
(hear it) - Another Beatles selection, "In My Life" (hear it)
- Lulu's "To Sir With Love" (hear it)
- Gram Parsons' "A Song for You" (hear it)
- Bread's "Daughter" (hear it)
- Jimmy Buffett's "Little Miss Magic" (hear it)
- Spiral Staircase's "I Love You More Today Than Yesterday" (hear it)
- Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" (hear it)
Classics from the '40s and '50s
- Ray Charles' "Ain't That Love" (hear it)
- The Rays' "Silhouettes" (hear it)
- Frankie Avalon's "Bobby Sox to Stockings" (hear it)
- Elvis' "The Wonder of You" (hear it)
- Sam Cooke's "Nothing Can Change This Love" (hear it)
Crazy and funky:
- Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild" (hear it)
- Voltaire's "Goodnight Demonslayer" (hear it)
- Any version of "You Are My Sunshine," particularly the Johnny Cash version (hear it)
- "Time Warp" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show (hear it)
- LOTS from The Vitamin String Quartet. Try Sweet Child O' Mine (hear it) or "Don't Stop Believing" (hear it)
- Kermit's "The Rainbow Connection" (hear it)
For the country dads at heart:
- The Bellamy Brothers' "Let Your Love Flow" (hear it)
- Kenny Chesney's "There Goes My Life" (hear it)
- John Fogerty's "I Will Walk With You" (hear it)
- The Judds' "Love is Alive" (hear it)
- Rascal Flatts' "My Wish" (hear it)
- Dixie Chicks' "Lullaby" (hear it)
Far out stuff for alterna-dads:
- Yo La Tengo's "You Can Have It All" (hear it)
- David Bowie's "Let's Dance" (hear it)
- "Standing" from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical, sung by Tony Head
(hear it) - The Dropkick Murphy's "Forever" (hear it)
And the strangest (but cool) suggestions from the comments:
- Randy Newman's "Short People" (hear it)
- Jonathan Coulton's "Re: Your Brains" (hear it)
- Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five's "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens"
(hear it)
If you're looking for even more, the playlist from WFUV's father's day show might give you some great ideas.
PS: Extra bonus awesome points if you can carry off something like this.
PPS: If you're also looking for killer first dance songs, check out our article on first dance songs that haven't been done to death.
About Ariel Meadow Stallings
Author of Offbeat Bride: Creative Alternatives for Independent Brides, Ariel acts as the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire websites. She lives, loves, and dorks out hard in Seattle, WA.
Jackie said
I plan to dance with my dad to Cat Stevens (nee Yusef Islam)the Wind. Short, sweet and not icky!
Sharon Troy said
Oh, this is awesome. I sent my Dad the WFUV playlist and I bet we can find something there. Thanks so much for posting my question, Ariel!
Suzy said
I wanted a classic since they tend to be short, so we recently decided on "Ain't That Love" by Ray Charles. We also wanted the groom and his mom to join in and this song seemed to fit.
Emily said
My dad and I danced to Tori Amos's Winter. It was because he bought the album when I was in elementary school, and sat me down and had me listen to it. It's also a good kinda touchy-feely-you always supported me kind of song. We spent the whole dance talking about her career, as evidenced by this photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thekellyg/498234898/
In any case: what not go with something that is personally meaningful–a song that you and your dad can share for some reason.
Sarah said
Maybe Paul Simon's "Father and Daughter"? It fits with your dad's preference for 60/70's classic music.
Shell Meggersee said
Well, my dad and I are kind of nuts anyway, and neither of us or into the sappy stuff, so we actually did our father daughter dance to RHPS Time Warp and got everyone to going in!
It was great and the pictures will be entertaining for years to come.
Boomer said
I'm torn between two songs – - – either Landslide by either fleetwood mac or the dixie chicks, or angels flying too close to the ground by willie nelson.
Abi said
Thanks for posting some responses to this question! I'd been wondering myself just what to choose when the time for dancing arrives.
Emily said
What about that Tim McGraw song?
Also- "If These Walls Could Speak" off the "Lead Me On" album by Amy Grant is very touching.
Sara Beth said
Amen! I hate sappy songs – I love my grandfather, but I do not want one of those cry-your-eyes out moments. I want to smile and laugh the entire time! Thank you so much for posting some info on alternatives!
Amanda said
We're using Paul Simon's father and daughter. It's pretty upbeat and has nice lyrics.
Amy said
I chose "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, as another poster mentioned. I grew up listening to FM with my father and took him to see them in concert several years ago for Father's Day. It's a song that holds meaning and sentiment for us.
Melissa said
Sweet Child of Mine by Guns and Roses!!!
Katty said
We're dancing our hearts out to led zepplin's "thank you" we're both big fans of LZ and the lyrics are cool.
Bride said
Thats my pick too! My dad and I are both Zeppelin fans and that song is great!
Andrea said
there was a great story on npr about wedding songs. its worth a listen plus the song list isnt bad, check it out:
http://www.npr.org/templates/s…d=11157882
if for whatever reason the link doesnt work go to npr.org and search wedding day blues: finding the perfect mix cd.
Kate Mo said
I've decided against doing any kind of "first dance" action, just because I'm not really a dancer, but I thought M.Ward's version of David Bowie's "Let's Dance" would be absolutely perfect for one of those moments.
Christina said
We used The Beatles' All You Need Is Love for a simultaneous bride-bride's dad, groom-groom's mother dance that then expanded to include the other parents, the wedding party and their partners and anyone else who wanted to join in. We picked it because it's not too slow, has a happy but not too sappy message and it's fun/easy to dance to.
Dina said
DIY Weddings has a nice list, too.
Angi said
I personally found the lyrics to Ben Folds' "Gracie" to be precious without being too sappy.
Shina said
You could always find a cool version of "sweet child."
Vicky said
My father and I danced to stand by me.
Lexie said
We danced to Kenny Roger's "Throught the Years".
Eve said
we are on the mod side of things so my dad and i chose To Sir with Love by Lulu
nina said
My daughter and her Dad are not using it, but I thought "time after time" by Cyndi Lauper was a good one.
Mattie said
How cool is your DJ? Our DJ (who is, lucky for us, also a longtime friend) is awesome at making suggestions based on our needs. If you have a DJ who is willing to get to know you and work with you, their knowledge of music will be a big help!
(Sorry I don't have a suggestion for a song–we aren't able to do parent dances.)