Story Behind The Song
When I got married, I wanted to get married at the college where I was very involved with the music program. It was far away from my wife's home and family. We transported all her relatives and they had to plan a wedding in an environment that was unfamiliar to them but very familiar to me. I wondered how my wife felt on one of the most important days of her life - especially since she had lost her father when she was 17. I never knew her father but I had heard so many wonderful stories that I felt that I knew him. I knew that he loved his family and that he was a warm caring and devoted father. He must have been there are she was walking down the aisle with her brother. My wife cannot listen to this song without crying.
Song Description
This is a song about a young woman on her wedding day as she is about to walk down the aisle. Her father isn't there and she keeps asking "where are you?" She is anxious and nervous. We don't know if her father is absent or deceased. It is up to the listener to determine whether she just feels his presence or whether he is physically there. The relationship between father and daughter is a special one. A wedding day is a time when the feelings between father and daughter are varied including love, loss, anxiety, fear and hope.
| Song Length |
2:29 |
Genre |
Country - General |
| Tempo |
Slow (71 - 90) |
Lead Vocal |
Female Vocal |
| Mood |
Moving, Peaceful |
Subject |
Daughter, Father |
| Language |
English |
Era |
2000 and later |
Lyrics
Where Are You?
Words and music by Tony Ashur
For Brigid Dernbach Ashur
on her first wedding anniversary
1. Daddy, this is my wedding day,
And where are you?
Daddy, oh how I need your smile
To help me down that aisle.
Oh Daddy, I need a tender word,
I need to hold your hand
And you will understand.
Oh Daddy, this is my wedding day
And I need you!
2. Daddy, this is your little girl,
I?m wondering, where are you?
When I am married, will he take care of me,
The way you used to do?
Oh Daddy! I want to hear your voice,
I want to see your face,
And feel your fond embrace.
Oh Daddy, this is my wedding day
And I need you!
3. Daddy, I?m walking down the aisle
And where are you?
Oh Daddy, I hear you whisperin? now
So softly in my ear.
?My darlin?, your daddy loves you, dear,
he?s so proud of you now,
and he?ll always be here!?
Oh Daddy, this is my wedding day
And you are here!
Copyright 1989 anthony a. ashur