Father's Day is a song I wrote in 2015 for premiere with the GIPC Band, and I recorded this version for the GIPC's 2020 Father's Day online service on June 21, 2020. 

The lyrics to this song reference Genesis ("And it was good") and refer to God the Father, but there are layers to the words I'd love to explain. 

My father passed in 2013, but one of the things I recall him explaining to me when I was young, was this: He and my mother said they owed my brother and I everything, and in return, we owed them nothing. Instead, we owed everything to our children, if we have them some day. Little did I know, he was describing the concept of grace. This conversation is the inspiration for the lines "I'll give you everything, a gift you can't repay... Just show your children the way."

When I wrote the song in 2015, my children were 9 and 6 years old.  Their individual personalities were well formed, and I would often notice something of my wife or myself in them.  This observation led to the lines "How can you be so much like me and be yourself in so many ways?" and "...and still surprise me with the things that you say?" 

Today, my children are 14 and 11.  They are themselves in every way, yet I continue to see the echoes of not only my wife and myself but also my father in them.  And it is good. 

"Father’s Day" by Dave Martin
When God looked down at all that He had made
He saw it was good, that’s what they say.
And when his children looked up to Him with love,
That was the first father’s day. 
And it was good.
Yeah, it was good.
How can you be so much like me
And be yourself in so many ways? 
I’ll give you everything, a gift you can’t repay,
Your Father’s love is here to stay.

How can you be so much like me
And still surprise me with the things that you say?
I’ll give you everything, just show your children the way,
And every day is Father’s day.

Now every father knows all children must grow,
Change, and move away.
Because those kids, you see, they're really you and me,
And we’re made to stumble along the way.
How can you be so much like me
And be yourself in so many ways? 
I’ll give you everything, a gift you can’t repay,
Your Father’s love is here to stay.
How can you be so much like me
And still surprise me with the things that you say?
I’ll give you everything, just show your children the way,
And every day is Father’s day.
And it is good.
He is good.
​All the time, He is good.

Today, the News-Herald published Sue Suchyta's article on Dave's composing for Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church's online services.  You can read the article here. 

To hear all the songs, scroll down this page or visit Shinyhead Music's YouTube channel.