The song I remember from that night? In fact the only song I remember? The Bunny Hop. If you're not familiar with this crowd-pleasing, toe tapping song, take a listen.
Seriously, that's the song I remember from my first Father-Daughter Dance my sophomore year in high school.
Now on one hand, if we chose this song for our Father Daughter Dance I don't think I'd be overcome with tears. Strike that. I might be laughing so hard that my eyes water.
Other music that might work would be music we listened to on road trips or at home. The two main genres? Show tunes and country music.
The first show tune that came to mind was from Gigi - one of my mother's favorite musicals. The song? Thank Heaven for Little Girls.
Unfortunately it's not very danceable.
So let's try Country Music. The song that always reminds me of my dad - Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman. The line? "... I need to practice my dancing. Oh please Daddy please." "And I will dance with Cinderella while she is here in my arms. ... I don't even want to miss one song. Because all too soon, the clock will strike midnight and she will be gone."
This song almost always brings tears to my eyes.
Why? Growing up my dad didn't dance (my mom on the other hand loved dancing). Freshman year I threw out the flyer for the Father Daughter Dance because I knew my dad didn't dance. But for me, he danced. For his girls, my dad would move heaven and earth.
My best memory of my dad dancing? Senior Parent Weekend at Santa Clara. Not of me dancing with my dad. My favorite memory is when my dad danced with my mom. You might remember my mom doesn't smile that much - those true smiles that come from the soul - and that night she did. My dad too was smiling, his grin stretched from ear to ear.
Another song with less emotional attachment for me, is In My Arms by Mark Willis. (And yes, I'll admit it. Yes I watched Charmed.)
Another song recently recommended is by Daughter by Loudon Wainwright III.
I'm going to let my dad choose as my mom says there's one particular Country song that always reminds him of his daughters. It might be Cinderella or it could be Tim McGraw's My Little Girl or Bob Carlisle's Butterfly Kisses. I'm going to give him a CD with all of the MP3s.
How did you choose the music for your Father Daughter dance? Did you surprise your dad? Or did he surprise you?
For our father-daughter dance, I always knew we had to have a waltz. My dad is a dancer and I've always loved waltzing with him, though I don't get to do it very often. My mom plays the fiddle so I recently came up with the idea of her playing a waltz for us to dance to - that way both parents could be involved in the tradition. It's looking like my cousin will probably accompany her on guitar too. I'm really looking forward to it! Should be a lot of fun. :)
ReplyDelete@Heather That sounds wonderful! I can't wait to hear your mom/cousin playing and see you and your father dancing together. It should be lovely!
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