Happy Father's Day

This is the first time we have ever written a song specifically in honor of Father's Day. We have published a number of pieces in honor of moms and/or Mother's Day which are adaptable, of course. But fathers are a tricky topic in schools these days, especially with the rising divorce rate. If you feel that you have reason to avoid using this song in your classroom, that's understandable. However, we would like to mention that the song is presented in a rather generic format so that you could be celebrating anyone who happens to be a father, not just your students' own fathers. In other words, it could be a celebration for your male teachers, principals, administrators, visiting dignitaries, and so on. On the other hand, if you have a classroom with students who can all happily celebrate their own fathers (or father figures), this tune will work well.

Set in an old-fashioned rock 'n' roll style, the song is mostly unison, except for an optional divisi at measure 9. It should be a piece of cake for anyone to learn. Our singers added a wee bit of nasal vocal inflection for fun as well.

The lyrics are not only simple, but also not too specific. In other words, they're not mushy or overtly emotional. If you actually want something like this for your dads, go find "Thanks, Mom," or "My Mom," and adapt the lyrics accordingly. (The first can be found in Music K-8, Volume 8, No. 5; the second one is in Volume 12, No. 5.) Conversely, if you want to adapt this song to moms, you can. Just change the words to "Mom, Mommy, Ma, Mamma. O Mother," etc. Be sure to give students a visual cue for the final statement over the music.