Sunday 27 January 2013

Songs of our fathers

Fathers don't have many songs dedicated to them. Our job is to be a presence in the background, being strong and confident, firm when needed, silly when required. Our job is be there.

Yesterday our father left us.

I had a call at 4.20pm from a hospital in Nigeria. "Daddy is gone".

I am a 50 year old boy (that's me looking suave with my brother, Roland, in his mid 40's in his nappy). I sat on the stairs while my own son put a kindly arm around me.

As I sit here with my tears before dawn, I am searching for a song about fathers. Where are the songs of our fathers? Where is our father's song?