Any new dads out there looking for some country music to listen to? You’ve come to the right place.
We’re a ways removed from Father’s Day, so for those thinking, “Why is this list of dad songs popping up right now?” I’ll counter by saying, “Why should dads only have country music suggestions thrown at them one day a year?” Chances are that a number of men out there have become dads between Father’s Day and now, and have to wait months on end to be celebrated.
The truth is I saw a Reddit thread from a new dad asking about country songs and that was the inspiration, but it got me thinking about some of the most powerful and inspiring, sometimes downright misty-eyed country anthems about fatherhood.
Whether you just became a dad, or you’ve been one for quite some time (or you are somewhere in between), there’s plenty of country songs and projects to cover all aspects of fatherhood. I went ahead and gathered 8 essential songs (plus two full albums) that should hit home all dads out there on their journey.
Albums
A Sailor’s Guide To The Earth – Sturgill Simpson
Sturgill Simpson (prior to his Johnny Blue Skies era) wrote this album for his son, who had just been born at the time of its 2016 release. With songs like “Breakers Roar,” “Keep It Between The Lines” and “Welcome To Earth (Pollywog),” this project is chock-full of advice and fatherly realizations:
“I’ve been told you measure a man
By how much he loves
When I hold you
I treasure each moment I spend
On earth, under heaven above”
The album won Best Country Album at the 59th Grammy Awards and it was also nominated for the all-genre Album of the Year.
“Welcome To Earth”
Fathers & Sons – Luke Combs
Each and every track of Luke Combs’ 2024 album, Fathers & Sons, focused on fatherhood, which makes sense, considering Luke Combs and his wife, Nicole, welcomed their first child (Tex) in June of 2022, and their second child (Beau) in August of 2023. The critically acclaimed record did a lot to explore fatherhood, but “The Man He Sees In Me” probably did it best:
“Well, I know he’s gonna find out that I didn’t hang the moon
And that never was a monster in the closet of his room
Some day when he’s drivin’ home with his son on his knee
Well, I hope he’s tryin’ to be the man he sees in me”
The album didn’t do the kind of commercial numbers that some of his other albums did, but ask any dad about the kind of impact it had on them, and many will call it his best, most meaningful work to date.
“The Man He Sees In Me”
Songs
“Drive (for Daddy Gene)” by Alan Jackson
This all-time-classic song from Alan Jackson is sure to inspire. The country music legend wrote this song that details how little moments can turn into everlasting memories and released it in 2002. Over two decades later, it hits just as hard for all of the fathers out there:
“Just a little valley by the river where we’d ride
But I was high on a mountain
When daddy let me
Drive
Daddy let me drive”
“Love Without End, Amen” by George Strait
Leave to the “King of Country” to perfectly encapsulate a father’s love. Strait released this one in 2003, and it lays out how fathers should love their kiddos. Becoming a dad is a full time commitment, and George Strait insists that fatherly love has no end:
“And he said, ‘Let me tell you a secret about a father’s love
A secret that my daddy said was just between us’
He said, ‘Daddies don’t just love their children every now and then
It’s a love without end, amen
It’s a love without end, amen’”
“Hey There Son” by Charles Wesley Godwin
Charles Wesley Godwin never fails to put out songs and albums that match the moment he’s currently in. This one came out in June of this year, and it’s already up there with some of the best father-son songs ever created. CWG takes the listener on an emotional trip from fatherhood at the newborn to being a dad of a grown up. It’s one of those songs that get’s you thinking about just how fast time flies:
“Hey there, Son
I can’t wait to get to know ya
Can’t wait to get to show ya
All the things in this world that you’ve got coming your way
Let’s let your mama rest now, it’ll be okay”
“That’s My Job” by Conway Twitty
Surprisingly, Conway Twitty wasn’t all horny country songs. With “That’s My Job,” the country singer proved that he can do heartfelt just as well. This song from 1987 showcases the job of all the fathers out there, and Twitty doesn’t make things too complicated:
“And I said ‘Daddy, I’m so afraid
How will I go on with you gone that way?
Don’t want to cry anymore, so may I stay with you?’
And he said ‘That’s my job
That’s what I do
Everything I do is because of you
To keep you safe with me
That’s my job you see’”
“More Than Me” by Justin Moore
Released on Justin’s 8-song Straight Outta The Country project in 2021, this tearjerker reads like a love letter to your children. For Justin, the song was birthed after a conversation with his 11 year old daughter (at the time) who was having some boy troubles, but for new fathers rocking their newborn baby to sleep, trying to envision wall that the world might hold for them, nothing rings more true than that last line of the chorus.
I hope you love, I hope you hit your knees
Hope you get to see the hometown team
Win a little more than me
Know the world’s gonna think the world of ya
But I swear on the stars above you
No one’s gonna love you more than me.
“Heaven Passing Through” by Turnpike Troubadours
A powerful song from one of the greatest country music songwriters to ever hold the pen. While looking at the stars one night with his young daughter, Evie, Evan was inspired to write “Heaven Passing Through,” which captures the sentiment that life doesn’t get much better than those small, intimate moments with your children. Fatherhood is chaotic and hectic, especially for first time fathers, and you can feel like you’re constantly treading water… but there’s also something about it that helps brings you into the present unlike anything else. Embrace it.
Come back from the dark somehow
Finally living in the here and now
No sign of a thundercloud following you
Don’t take it personal, the world don’t turn around you
Hold on to the moment like it’s heaven passing through