Lackawanna Rail

WRITER'S NOTES:

There are a couple of things that you should know when listening to this song.  First of all, my daughter was a holy terror when she was growing up.  Her rebellious and defiant attitude put us on edge.  Nothing we did seemed to get through to her.  But still I never doubted that she loved me.  And she says that she never doubted that I loved her. 

Another thing you should know is that when she was born, I was in the operating room.  When she popped out, the nurse handed her to me right away.  I held this little bloody bundle in my arms and she started to cry with those first breaths of air.  I got down close and I said "Don't worry, baby, it's going to be all right."  She opened her eyes and stopped crying.  Her eyes seemed to say "I know who you are, and I know I'm going to be ok."

I've called her "baby" ever since.  And she wouldn't have it any other way.  Even in front of her friends.  Even at her most rebellious stage.  It was a special bond in front of us.

She was just getting past that "I'm better than my parents" stage and starting to really appreciate her mom, when her mom passed away.  That was pretty rough on her I think.  She realized that all those rebellious days were time that she'll never have the chance to be with her mom.  A lot of people forget that.

So anyway... I wrote this song to sing at my daughter's wedding.  I figured that I'd sing it to her (live) while I danced the "father-daughter" dance at the reception.  I mean, what's the big deal of having a dad in the business if you can't have something cool like that happen at your wedding!

I thought the wedding would be the only place that I would ever sing it.  I figured that the song was too personal to be enjoyed by anyone else.  However,  my daughter comes to see me when I play out locally and one night she was there, and I sang the song to her.  Several people came up to me that night and told me how they had related to that song.  Some saw themselves with their father, or their daughters with their father.  A lot of people got started on the "parent memory" train by listening to the song.

So now I've added it to my usual songs.