A Tale of Two "Daddy's"

Comparing and Contrasting
The Song “Daddy” with the poem “Daddy”

In week 7, we experienced the poetic works of Sylvia Path and learned of her short and rather tragic life. The title of the poem, ‘’Daddy” quickly reminded me of a song written and recorded by the artist Jewel with the same name. Both songs deal with the relationship between a daughter and her father. Here are the lyrics to the song Daddy by Jewel:

My bones are tired, Daddy

I don't get enough sleep

I don't eat as good as I could, Daddy

What's that say about me?

Sometimes I sleep past noon, Daddy

Drink lots of black coffee and I smoke like a chimney.

Yes, I left the refrigerator door half open, Daddy.

What's that say about me?

Sometimes I want to rip out your throat, Daddy

For all those things you said that were mean.

Gonna make you just as vulnerable as I was, Daddy

What's that say about me?

Sometimes I want to bash in your teeth, Daddy.

Gonna use your tongue as a stamp

Gonna rip your heart out the way you did mine, Daddy

Go ahead and psycho-analyze that.

'Cause I'm your creation, I'm your love, Daddy.

Grew up to be and do all those sick things you said I'd do

Well last night I saw you sneak out your window

With your white hood, Daddy

What's' that say about you?

I'm sloppy, what's that say about you?

I'm messy, what's that say about you?

My bones are tired, Daddy

One of the strongest similarities between Jewel’s song and Sylvia Plath’s poem are the vulnerability that the speaker’s feel in reference to their fathers. While Jewel’s speaker remembers feeling “vulnerable” (Jewel), Plath’s speaker has always been “scared” of her father (The Norton Anthology of American Literature 2656).  In addition, both speakers respond to their emotions with thoughts of violence. Plath indicates she has “killed” her father in the second stanza of her poem and in stanza 15 she has “killed one man” and then “two” (The Norton Anthology of American Literature 2658). Finally, one last similarity has to do with the indications that the speakers’ fathers were both of the same mindset regarding race. While Plath compares her speaker’s father to a “Nazi” or and “Aryan” (The Norton Anthology of American Literature 2657), Jewel indicates her speaker’s father “sneaks” out at night and wears a “white hood” (Jewel). Here is a link to the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-rKgm2sbFQ

Works Cited

Jewel. "Daddy." Pieces of Me. By Jewel. 1995.

The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York, 2008.