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Fatherhood

Most of the time, I sing Dolly Parton to Joshua. "I Will Always Love You" has three perfect verses. The first is an announcement:

If I should stay, I would only be in your way.
So I'll go, but I know--
I'll think of you every step of the way.

 I want Josh to know: These apparently simple lines have internal rhyme. Also, they aren't flashy; they are plainspoken. (So seemingly effortless, and so hard to pull off! Stephen Sondheim says, You don't want to gild the lily. You aren't writing poetry. You just want to let the melody do a great deal of the work.)

In the second verse, Dolly's thoughts turn to her "luggage":

Bittersweet memories--
That is all I'm taking with me.
So goodbye: Please don't cry.
We both know I'm not what you need.

 Again, the restraint! (My other favorite lyrics are similarly "toned-down," and they're from "Fiddler on the Roof." "At ten, I learned a trade...I hear they picked a bride for me....I hope she's pretty!" How do you beat that?)

In the final verse, Dolly naturally looks to the future:

I hope life treats you kind.
And I hope you have all that you need.
And I wish you joy--and happiness.
But above all this--I wish you love.

 You can't beat this writing. I imagine that I will have several shortcomings as a parent, but I'm determined to give my son good taste in music. He doesn't seem perturbed that I'm continuously singing a break-up song to him. Maybe we can discuss that later, in therapy.

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