I’m not crying, my allergies are just really bad this time of the year…
First and foremost, happy Father’s Day to all the incredible dad’s out there. It’s always special day on the calendar, because I think a lot of us have learned so much from our dad’s and wouldn’t be the people we are without them.
But I know there’s also plenty of people out there who may not be able to be with their dad today, and this holiday has a heavier meaning without him here.
And if you’re someone who is missing your dad on this Father’s Day, you need to hear Ashley Monroe’s tearjerker, “Daddy I Told You” (just make sure you have a few tissues on hand).
From her 2018 fourth studio album Sparrow, the song is a touching tribute to her late father, who passed away when Ashley was just 13 years old from pancreatic cancer.
He was diagnosed in November of 1999, and sadly passed away on February 25th, 2000 when she was a very young teenager. She said she went from having a perfect childhood and loving family to being alone with her brother in a matter of months.
Her dad was no longer there to take care of her, and her mom, who was so distraught that her beloved husband was gone, had a nervous breakdown and left her kids to raise themselves for a while.
Ashley said it felt like she was living a completely different life at that time:
“It was so fast how it went from an amazing childhood, I really am blessed to have had that, and I was able to see real love between my parents.
But it went away so fast, and things went so drastically different, you know, and my mom completely had a nervous breakdown and left.
So it was just my brother and myself, my brother was 18 and I was 13, living in our family home.”
But that’s when she discovered her true passion for music and songwriting, and it was really the only thing that kept her afloat during the traumatic experience:
“And all I needed to do was hold on to the guitar, and that’s when I started writing.
Songs would just start coming out, because that was the only way I could feel anything better, even if the songs were so miserably sad.
I knew that if I could just get it out, it would feel better, you know?”
And while I’m sure you never truly get over the loss of your father, she poured her heart out to him in this song, and it’s obvious how much he meant to her and impacted her life.
Written by Ashley along with her Pistol Annies bandmate Angaleena Presley, as well as Josh O’Keefe, Ashley recalls some of the most special memories she had with her dad growing up, like singing hymns on the front porch and all the things she promised him she’d do one day:
“And daddy I told you
Remember how you made me sing them hymns on the back porch?
Daddy, don’t you know I’m carrying your spirit like a torch?
Daddy I told you I was gonna fly
I’d get out of that town alive
Don’t worry, I kept your name and your picture in a frame
Just like you, I got a lot in my heart
It won’t let me fall apart
I’ll always be your little girl
I love you more than this whole world”
Every single word just cuts to the core of your heart, and as a daddy’s girl myself, I get teary eyed just thinking about everything Ashley’s gone through and the special kind of relationship she must’ve had with her father.
And though I’m lucky enough to get to celebrate this day with my dad, I know plenty of people who don’t get to experience that anymore, and this is the perfect song for you today if you’re missing your old man.
In all honesty, whether your dad is still here or not, those last few lines will about rip your heart out every single time:
“I’ll always be your little girl, I love you more than this whole world…”
