Finding father daughter dance songs for our wedding felt remarkably tricky. Some song choices came super easily. First dance? No brainer. Michael’s dance with his mom? Easy peasy. But the list of available father daughter dance songs felt like they ranged from mildly creepy to just… not indicative of my relationship with my dad at all. I’m not daddy’s little girl, my dad was not “giving me away”, and I’d prefer if the lyrics didn’t make it sound like we’re dating, you know?
Which brought me to the question: how do you find something that isn’t Butterfly Kisses or Daddy’s Angel... that sums up all of the feelings that you have for your dad? (And we’re here to note: those feelings are not always perfectly simple. Maybe your dad is the sunshine of your life, and maybe he’s not). So we’ve done the work of digging up some of the best songs for the father daughter dance, so you can pick something good, without wading through all of the (very, very) bad.
Also in Advice
Ultimately, finding the right father daughter dance song means getting creative and going outside the traditional picks. So we’ve put in the work to round up some of the best songs that will put your feelings for your dad into words. For us, it was Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne’s “Changes.” But if you’re having a father daughter dance and haven’t figured your song out, here is our ultimate list of father daughter songs you’ll actually want to use at your wedding.
30 Father daughter dance songs (for feminists)
- The Beatles “In My Life“
- 10,000 Maniacs “How You’ve Grown“
- Bob Dylan: “Forever Young“
- Rod Stewart: “Forever Young“
- Stevie Wonder: “You Are the Sunshine of My Life“
- The Rolling Stones: “She’s a Rainbow“
- Neil Young: “Here for You“
- Queen: “You’re My Best Friend“
- David Bowie: “Let’s Dance“
- Fleetwood Mac: “Songbird“
- Louis Armstong: “What a Wonderful World“
- Bobby McFerrin: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy“
- The Beatles: “Here Comes the Sun“
- Wilco: “My Darling“
- Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole: “Unforgettable“
- Andy Williams: “Moon River“
- Fleetwood Mac: “Landslide“
- Ben Folds: “Gracie“
- The Byrds: “Turn! Turn! Turn!“
- Billy Joel: “Vienna“
- Joni Mitchell: “Both Sides Now“
- Nanci Griffith: “Turn Around“
- Devendra Banhart: “Baby“
- Carole King: “Child of Mine“
- Talking Heads: “And She Was“
- Eric Clapton: “May You Never“
- Paul Simon: “Father and Daughter“
- Josh Groban: “You Raise Me Up“
- Box Tops: “I See Only Sunshine“
- The Beach Boys: “God Only Knows“
