"My Father's Song" is a song recorded by American singer

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

for her seventeenth studio album, '' Lazy Afternoon'' (1975). It was released as a 7" single in August 1975 through Columbia Records.

Rupert Holmes David Goldstein (born February 24, 1947), better known as Rupert Holmes, is a British-American composer, singer-songwriter, dramatist and author. He is widely known for the hit singles "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" (1979) and " Him" (1980). ...

wrote the song in collaboration with its producer

Jeffrey Lesser Jeffrey Lesser is a U.S.-based historian of Latin America who is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor at Emory University. Prior to that he was the Winship Distinguished Professor of the Humanities. After two terms as the chair of the History Dep ...

. A sentimental

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, "My Father's Song" was about Streisand's childhood with her father; Holmes' lyrics involve a protagonist, presumably a daughter, asking for her father's approval in life and love. Streisand released "My Father's Song" and its B-side track "By the Way" in Spain retitled "La Canción de Mi Padre" and "Da Paso", respectively. Simon Price, a writer for ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'', liked "My Father's Song" and the other Holmes-written tracks on ''Lazy Afternoon'' because he felt they demonstrated Streisand's strengths and abilities on the album. Commercially, it entered the Adult Contemporary charts in both the United States and Canada, peaking at numbers 11 and 15, respectively.

Background and composition

"My Father's Song" was a brand new song recorded specifically for Streisand's seventeenth studio album, '' Lazy Afternoon'' (1975). Produced by

and

Streisand worked closely with Holmes during the creation of the album. Prior to their collaboration, Holmes was considered to be relatively unknown. After finishing up with Holmes and in order to thank him for the collaborations, Streisand hand-wrote him a note that read, "Dear Rupert, don't be frightened, you're the best, love Barbra". In the official liner notes of ''L. azy Afternoon'', she stated that the track was "a very personal gift

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

mean a great to deal to me"; responding to her comments in a 1988 interview with a Streisand fan, Holmes claimed that the process was simple and that he had only "put in ..everything that a daughter might want to hear her father say" in the lyrics. The track was released as the album's lead single in August 1975 through Columbia Records. On the standard edition 7" release, "My Father's Song" was accompanied by the B-side track "By the Way", which was written by both Holmes and Streisand specifically for ''Lazy Afternoon'' and would later be included on it. A promotional 7" vinyl record was also released and included both the mono and stereo versions of the song. For a special edition version in Spain, Streisand and Holmes created a Spanish version of both songs on the original 7" single for a commercial release in that country; released on October 3, 1975, "My Father's Song" was retitled "La Canción de Mi Padre" and "By the Way" was called "Da Paso". "My Father's Song", like the majority of the tracks on ''Lazy Afternoon'', is a "sympathetic"

that focuses heavily on Streisand's vocals. According to the official sheet music published by the

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

, the song is written in the key of

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

with a moderately slow beat consisting of 125

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. In the lyrics of "My Father's Song", Streisand sings about discussions with her father where he claims, "Whatever you are, you're going to be / Whatever you are is all right with me".

Reception

Simon Price of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's ''

'' spoke highly of "My Father's Song" and the two others Rupert-written tracks on ''Lazy Afternoon'' ( "Letters That Cross in the Mail", and "Widescreen"). His favoritism stemmed from the "collaborative spirit that you can hear between her and Rupie"; he also stated that working with Streisand changed Rupert's life and displayed that Streisand was "in her prime". "My Father's Song" did not enter the main charts in the United States and Canada, but rather the Adult Contemporary charts in both countries. In the United States, the single debuted on the aforementioned chart at number 40 for the week ending September 6, 1975, and was the week's second highest debut according to ''Billboard''. After rising for several weeks, it peaked at number 11 on October 25. In Canada, it debuted at number 48 according to the official list compiled by ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

''. It eventually reached number 15 in its fifth week charting (and was also its peak position).

Track listings and formats

;Standard edition 7" single * A1 "My Father's Song" – 3:33 * B1 "By the Way" – 2:56 ;Spain 7" single * A1 "La Canción de Mi Padre" – 3:34 * B1 "Da Paso" – 2:54 ;Promotional 7" single * A1 "My Father's Song (Mono Version)" – 3:33 * B1 "My Father's Song (Stereo Version)" – 3:33

Charts

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{authority control 1975 singles 1975 songs Barbra Streisand songs 1970s ballads Columbia Records singles Songs written by Rupert Holmes Songs about fathers