My Dad and Music

Happy Father's Day to all those dads out there, whether by blood, marriage, or just love. My dad doesn't really listen to music much. In the car, he prefers Sports Radio. He goes to concerts with my mom, but not necessarily because he loves the music. He loves the scene and the people and the experience. However, despite these things, he plays a big part in my love of music.

When I was little, my dad would sing to me whenever I was sad, or when I was going to bed. His singing calmed me down and let me breathe again when I was crying and let me drift off into dreamland when I was having trouble sleeping. He would sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star a song that he made up called "Oh, Daddy." The lyrics are something about he is so cool and that he has a lot of tools that my mom drool (serious). Anyway, it was a pretty slow song and it provided me peace of mind. He would also sing what he dubbed Banjo, which is actually called Oh, Susannah, and Doggy in the Window, which eventually led to us getting our dog that we have to this day. However, by far, my favorite song that he would sing was Catch A Falling Star, which we just called "Star."" The amount of times that he has asked me if I wanted to sing "Star" is uncountable.

If I had to tell you my dad's favorite song. I would say, "Muffin Man," which is the song Do You Know the Muffin Man? Anyway, my dad sings this song every day at least twice. He has made up so many verses to this song that we still have not found when the song ends. It just keeps going. There is a verse for every single person in our family, including my aunt, my nephew, my grandma, and my dog (he even barks for that one).

My dad hardly sings to music that other people make or that aren't children's songs. I strongly believes this is because he is a kid at heart. When describing my dad, I say that he is a five-year-old that can drive and hold a job. And that's pretty accurate. He's goofy and silly like a little kid. And you can tell that his personality has effected my siblings' and mine personalities as well. We all have that inner kid in us that I'm pretty sure will never go away. Sure, everyone has a inner kid, but I have come to the only conclusion I can is that my dad isn't afraid to hide it and he's taught us to never hide it as well.

Love you, Pops.

-Laur

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket / Save it for a rainy day / For love may came and tap you on the shoulder / Some starless night." -Catch A Falling Star, Perry Como