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A song that made me cry

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I’m currently reading Dust Bunnies, a memoir by singer/songwriter Tommy Womack. I picked this paperback up at Parnassus Books in Nashville in 2018, and sadly am only getting around to reading it now. If you are interested in the process of writing a song, and working in a creative industry like the music business, it is an entertaining read.

Womack’s most popular and requested song in his solo career is a short “testament to fear, love, and living in the now.” He almost left it off the album, because he felt it was too honest, and people wouldn’t want to hear him whine. I put the song on after finishing this particular chapter, and it hits hard for me right now.

Last weekend was the third anniversary of my dad’s death. My dad really liked being a father, especially when my sister and I were young kids. My own daughter was born a couple months after he died, and going through each milestone with her, I think about Dad often. I think he would have loved being a grandfather.

People don’t talk enough about the fears associated with parenthood, and trying to provide for your kid. The world is unfair and cruel at times. It has been feeling more cruel lately. Parents are stressed out right now. Tommy Womack’s song captures those fears pretty honestly. And if you’re a parent, you may feel a little less alone.

Here’s the song:

It’s been a nice day, we all went swimming
Me and my sweetheart and our boy
It’s been a nice day, we had a good time
The sun was shining and life was joy

It was at a friend’s house, we got invited
We can’t afford a swimming pool ourselves
Our beds are unmade, our bills are half-paid
But we got beans up on the shelves

I’m 43 now, my hair is going
I got a shaky sense of self-esteem
But in that water, that smile on my boy’s face
For a moment life was not a bad dream

It’s been a nice day, we all went swimming
I love you Daddy, he said that twice
Nothing got broken, no one got sunburned
I never freaked out, it was nice

I worry often, I live in terror
Of what life might have in store
I’ve got this vision, working at Mapco
Making change when I’m 64

I’ll be an old man, I’ll have had a good time
I’ll have, God willing, my boy and my girl
And then I’ll die, and go to God’s house
Singing “take me from this world.”

It’s been a nice day, we all went swimming
Me and my sweetheart and our boy

‘Nice Day’ performed by Tommy Womack on YouTube