dbt tracks # 45 - DADDY NEEDS A DRINK

[Clams]

Sorry for the lateness of this week's thread. Anyway...

DADDY NEEDS A DRINK. Never have truer words been spoken, and I speak 'em all the time. Talk about a late-night vibe... the mellowness, the pedal steel, the drinking jackets and cleaning outfits, calming down the badness, executing some gladness and hemming in some demons. Love it.


Daddy needs a drink to deal with all the beauty
To deal with all the madness to keep from blowing up
Daddy needs a drink to calm down the badness
To execute his gladness on the fullness of his cup

Daddy needs a drink to keep the wheels from rubbing
To compensate for nothing or nothing going on

Daddy needs a drink so Mama fix one quick
Pour it nice and strong with your cleaning outfit on

Daddy needs a drink to hem in his demons
To hear through baby screaming or the TV set turned on
There ain't nothing on the radio like the wave my transmitter's on
Put that drinking jacket on and enjoy a little fog

[Iowan]

I don't listen to it a ton, and don't need it in my rock show, but it's lyrically great and its the definition of a "mood" song. I'm not a daddy, but there are plenty of nights where I need a drink. This song definitely rings true.

['Scratch]

Regarding the "cleaning outfit". On the old board there was a thread on the subject and one poster said he envisioned the cleaning outfit as some kind of sexy french maid get up.

I completely disagree and for some reason, this misconception has always bugged me. Why? Because let's be real here. The song is describing a guy who is getting crushed daily by the frustrations of his shitty job and the responsibility of supporting a family. When he get's home he's not looking at his leather couch, new furniture and fancy HD flat screen. He's in a trailer or a Cape Cod with a small yard, there are kid pictures on the fridge, the kitchen table is second hand, his couch is ratty and the rug has stains on it. His supportive and equally hard working wife isn't wearing a sexy outfit. She's wearing a pair of pilly old sweatpants, a worn out sweatshirt, a pair of old Reeboks and a bandanna on her hair.

While there is honor is doing the hard thing to support a family in tough times, there isn't a whole lot of glory.

[BigTom]

The "cleaning outfit" part makes me think of Leave It To Beaver everytime I hear it. Whenever Ward would come home from a hard day's work Mrs. Cleaver would always greet him with her "cleaning outfit" on.

[Duke Silver]

Regarding the "cleaning outfit". On the old board there was a thread on the subject and one poster said he envisioned the cleaning outfit as some kind of sexy french maid get up.

I completely disagree and for some reason, this misconception has always bugged me. Why? Because let's be real here. The song is describing a guy who is getting crushed daily by the frustrations of his shitty job and the responsibility of supporting a family. When he get's home he's not looking at his leather couch, new furniture and fancy HD flat screen. He's in a trailer or a Cape Cod with a small yard, there are kid pictures on the fridge, the kitchen table is second hand, his couch is ratty and the rug has stains on it. His supportive and equally hard working wife isn't wearing a sexy outfit. She's wearing a pair of pilly old sweatpants, a worn out sweatshirt, a pair of old Reeboks and a bandanna on her hair.

While there is honor is doing the hard thing to support a family in tough times, there isn't a whole lot of glory.

i agree with your interpretation 100% -- that's how i hear it too. that being said, they were selling a "daddy needs a drink" t-shirt around that time with a Freed drawing of a sexy chick in a french maid outfit...

['Scratch]

For sure. Let's face it, a sexily dressed wench - even if she's a ghoul - is way hotter than pilly sweats and old Reeboks. I'd hit it.

[Clams]

[dime in the gutter]

There ain't nothing on the radio like the wave my transmitter's on
Put that drinking jacket on and enjoy a little fog

perfection. daddy's headspace is just right. ethereal, spacey and not quite clear. pour another.


cleaning outfit......ratty, yet oh so comfy old house coat, zip up robey type deal with crappy ass slippers from fred's.

momma wears it cause "it's easy".

[Rocky]

I absolutely love what Spooner brings to the table in this song.

[one belt loop]

This reminds me of my favorite children's book, Daddy Drinks Because You Cry.



Ok, so that's not a real book. But I think this is a much deeper song (sorry, Clams) than a quick lyrical scan reveals. Is he being sarcastic when he says he needs a drink to deal with all the beauty, or is it really too much for him? I always took him to mean what he's saying - that sometimes the gorgeousness of the world is as painful in its way as the madness that might make him blow up.

This is a sensitive soul who is barely keeping it together in the face of the daily grind. We know that. But that opening line reveals someone who also knows what he has to lose. And he thinks of himself as bad. I think he's drinking as much to shut that part up - the part that tells him he's bad - as much as the part that wants to give the crying baby a flying lesson.

This guy knows drinking from the inside out, not unlike our Women Without Whiskey friend.

I always see the French maid's outfit, too. Maybe he's just wishing for that. Who doesn't?

I always listen to this song when it comes up, and sometimes put it on repeat a few times. It's so gorgeous and over too soon. And I'd love to see it live, but still haven't. Maybe I'll get a nice surprise one day.

This is the song I'd have chosen if I were doing song of the week. (Sorry again, Clams.) In the end, I can't tell you exactly why this one grabs me so much, except that it feels so true, so tinged with primal sadness, and musically has an ethereal quality that is just breathtaking.

[Zip City]

It's the "grown up" version of Why Henry Drinks

[njMark]

Always listen to this one when, like you guys have said, the whole bread winner, holy shit my kid needs new shoes already and the rents due times roll around. Although I don't drink much I get the vibe and whole heartedly understand it. I really love all of their imperfect dad songs, DNAD, Eyes like glue, Daddy Learned to Fly, This Fucking Job. Its hard doing the right thing all the while realizing it will probably end up killing you, or atleast the part of you who was once able to enjoy the good, beautiful things in life. All I know is Patterson and Co. are fucking national treasures.

[Mrs Swamp]

Mamma need`s a drink to....

[Iowan]

This reminds me of my favorite children's book, Daddy Drinks Because You Cry.



Ok, so that's not a real book. But I think this is a much deeper song (sorry, Clams) than a quick lyrical scan reveals. Is he being sarcastic when he says he needs a drink to deal with all the beauty, or is it really too much for him? I always took him to mean what he's saying - that sometimes the gorgeousness of the world is as painful in its way as the madness that might make him blow up.

This is a sensitive soul who is barely keeping it together in the face of the daily grind. We know that. But that opening line reveals someone who also knows what he has to lose. And he thinks of himself as bad. I think he's drinking as much to shut that part up - the part that tells him he's bad - as much as the part that wants to give the crying baby a flying lesson.

This guy knows drinking from the inside out, not unlike our Women Without Whiskey friend.

I always see the French maid's outfit, too. Maybe he's just wishing for that. Who doesn't?

I always listen to this song when it comes up, and sometimes put it on repeat a few times. It's so gorgeous and over too soon. And I'd love to see it live, but still haven't. Maybe I'll get a nice surprise one day.

This is the song I'd have chosen if I were doing song of the week. (Sorry again, Clams.) In the end, I can't tell you exactly why this one grabs me so much, except that it feels so true, so tinged with primal sadness, and musically has an ethereal quality that is just breathtaking.

Exactly how I see it.

['Scratch]

Is he being sarcastic when he says he needs a drink to deal with all the beauty, or is it really too much for him? I always took him to mean what he's saying - that sometimes the gorgeousness of the world is as painful in its way as the madness that might make him blow up.

Daddy needs a drink to deal with all the beauty
To deal with all the madness to keep from blowing up
Daddy needs a drink to calm down the badness
To execute his gladness on the fullness of his cup

OBL, that line is the crux of the song for me. That and the follow up about "executing the gladness".

I'm the father of two young daughters and married to wonderful woman. We don't have a lot of nice stuff right now, but we have all the things that really matters - health, love, family, a roof, food, clothes, vehicles that get us there, a dog... So when I look around I'm overwhelmed by my good fortune and do my damnedest to not take it for granted. On the other hand, I'm the sole proprietor of a small business in a brutal economy and the weight on my shoulders can be crushing at times. I relate to the daddy in the song because while I'm surrounded by the beauty of my little family, it sometimes takes a drink or two to push away the fears and appreciate just how full my cup really is.

It's a heavy duty song.

[GuitarManUpstairs]

It's a heavy duty song.

Damn straight. I love the tone of the song and how mellow the vibe is and how it contrasts with the frustrations and fatigue he's obviously experiencing. I think it provides sonic imagery of the place that drink helps get him to in spite of the screaming, crying and needs of assistance he faces from his blessings when he gets home. He has a full cup and alot on his plate. Our lives are filled with blessings that also carry the weight of responsibility and I think this song perfectly reflects the way alot of us feel as we make it through each day as parents and husbands and wives.

[Smitty]

Loaded.

[jimmyjack]

I absolutely love what Spooner brings to the table in this song.

^^^ this.

I say this all the time when I come home from work. My wife just rolls her eyes.

Love this song.

[pallister]

A great song to combo with Your Daddy Hates Me.

There are certain lines in certain songs that grab you immediately the firt time you hear them. "to calm the badness, to execute the gladness" did that for me. A phrase that spoke to me given where I was at in life when I heard it. Of course, like YDHM, I have yet to hear it live.

[Smitty]

Love Spooner's work too, but Neff makes the song for me. Top Five Patterson song.

[lajakesdad]

I really love this song and relate to it all too much. I even have the t-shirt. I come home from a stressful day and need a few minutes alone in the garage with a couple beers. Just let the day flow out of me and prepare for the craziness of life with kids. Although I haven't drank at all in 2011, I will again. Daddy really needs a drink.

[Tequila Cowboy]

I've always thought of this as a tale of an ordinary Joe. His job sucks, he's tired and he doesn't think it's going to get better so his wife fixing him a drink in (if he's lucky) a cleaning outfit on, wearing his drinking jacket (probably just an old ratty shirt) is as good as it's ever going to get. He sees the beauty but it's not for him. He lives his life in quiet desperation and drinks to forget and maybe imagine something better. When I hear this song I think of my neighbor. He drinks a case of beer a night and once told me life really didn't matter as long as his kids did better than him and once in a while his wife dressed up in a playboy bunny outfit he bought her. He's not a drunk, he has a job, provides for his family but he's not happy, not unless he's wasted. His story, like the guy in the song, is a more familiar one than a lot of people would like to think.

[Zip City]

I find it interesting that the first thing he can't deal with is beauty

[one belt loop]

I find it interesting that the first thing he can't deal with is beauty

I agree. If it wasn't for that line, especially as an opening line, it would be the innocuous song about how responsibility gets a man down sometimes at the end of the day. But he can't deal with all the beauty...even the best things in his life cause him pain or feel oppressive. Maybe it's just too much to live up to. I don't know; I just know it stabs me in my gut.

[pallister]

Happiness is one of the hardest things to deal with for some people. That's what I think of when I hear the "beauty" line.

[RevMatt]

I had a strange experience with this song. A while ago my band was working with a female vocalist who had just started singing in bands. I brought her a few songs to sing. Some I wrote. I also brought down some Emmy Lou Harris and Lucinda Williams songs. One night I brought this song into rehearsal. The song takes on an entirely different meaning when a woman is singing it because the narrator becomes either the wife or one of the kids. If I hadn't quit drinking 22 years ago the song might be enough for me to put the bottle down when sung by a woman. A very surreal experience.

With Patterson singing it, I never took it as an anti-drinking song. Or even one where the person is dependent upon alcohol or using it as a crutch. It is just about coming home at the end of the day and enjoying a mild buzz from a nice mixed drink. The drink is only enhancing the love the man feels for his family. Helps him unwind and appreciate what he has. If the baby is crying, the buzz prevents it from unnerving him.

[pallister]

I took it completely the other way - that alcohol was the only way he could deal with life, but in doing that, it just made life that much harder. As the "cure" of drink tends to do.

[Iowan]

I've always seen it as a guy having a functional, healthy relationship with the bottle. It helps him maintain the rest of his life, and get through the struggles. His life's a struggle, but he does what he needs to, and a couple drinks at night get him through.

Alcohol, if you can enjoy it in a responsible manner, can be a great thing.