15 Best Country Songs About Fathers

Country music has a deep lineage of songs celebrating family — in particular, the bond between children and their fathers. In honor of Father’s Day on Sunday (June 18), here’s a look at some of country music’s top tunes saluting dads, whether from the perspective of fathers wrestling with the demands and long-reaching impact of being a parent or from the perspective of children, now grown, reminiscing on the memories and lessons learned from dear ol’ dad.

For some, thinking of their father conjures up memories of baseball games, camping, hugs, fishing trip and working together on cars. For others, the memories might center more around an absentee father who spent long days away at the office or on work trips, or a father who was a stern disciplinarian.

If you can’t find just the right Father’s Day greeting card or you need a slate of songs to soundtrack a perfect Father’s Day celebration or are just in a nostalgic mood for some fatherly tunes, consider a few of the songs below.

This list includes hits from a range of artists, including George Strait’s “Love Without End, Amen,” Reba McEntire’s “The Greatest Man I Never Knew,” Trace Adkins’s “Just Fishin’,” Ricky Van Shelton’s “Keep It Between the Lines,” and Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue.” Since fathers have fathers too, we threw in a few songs about grandpas as well, such as The Judds’ “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Ole Days)” and Riley Green’s breakthrough hit “I Wish Grandpas Never Died” (the most recent song to make the list). We also honored stepfathers with tunes like Brad Paisley’s “He Didn’t Have to Be.”

See our list of the best country Father’s Day anthems below.