21 Broadway Songs About Dads That Will Make You Cry

    In honor of Father's Day, belt these showtunes and pass the tissues.

    1. "Soliloquy" (Carousel)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "My boy, Bill! He'll be tall

    And tough as a tree, will Bill!

    Like a tree he'll grow

    With his head held high

    And his feet planted firm on the ground

    And you won't see nobody dare to try

    To boss or toss him around!"

    2. "Wheels of a Dream" (Ragtime)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "I see his face

    I hear his heartbeat

    I look in those eyes

    How wise they seem

    Well, when he is old enough

    I will show him America

    And he will ride

    On the wheels of a dream"

    3. "No More" (Into the Woods)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "We disappoint, we leave a mess

    We die, but we don't

    We disappoint in turn, I guess

    Forget, though, we won't

    Like father, like son"

    4. "Bring Him Home" (Les Misérables)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "You can take

    You can give

    Let him be

    Let him live

    If I die, let me die

    Let him live"

    5. "Father's Day" (Children of Eden)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "That's what it means to be a father

    Planning their future as you watch your children sleep

    That's what it means to be a father

    I never knew that I could feel a love so deep"

    6. "Telephone Wire" (Fun Home)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "This car ride,

    This is where it has to happen!

    There must be some other chances

    There's a moment I'm forgetting

    Where you tell me you see me"

    7. "Johanna (Reprise)" (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "And in that darkness when I’m blind

    With what I can’t forget

    It’s always morning in my mind,

    My little lamb, my pet

    Johanna"

    8. "Something Was Missing" (Annie)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "The world was my oyster

    But where was the pearl?

    Who'd dream I would find it

    In one little girl?"

    9. "At the Ballet" (A Chorus Line)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "I used to dance around the living room with my arms up like this

    My fantasy was that it was an Indian chief

    And he'd say to me,

    'Maggie, do you wanna dance?'

    And I'd say, 'Daddy, I would love to dance'"

    10. "Father to Son" (Falsettos)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "You'll be, kid, a man, kid, if nothing goes wrong.

    Sing for yourself as we march along

    A man, kid, you'll be, kid, whatever the song

    Sing for yourself as we march along"

    11. "No Matter What" (Beauty and the Beast)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "No matter what you do

    I'm on your side

    And if my point of view

    Is somewhat misty-eyed

    There's nothing clearer in my life

    Than what I wish and feel for you"

    12. "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" (The Phantom of the Opera)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "You were once my one companion

    You were all that mattered

    You were once a friend and father

    Then my world was shattered"

    13. "He Lives in You" (The Lion King)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "He lives in you

    He lives in me

    He watches over

    Everything we see"

    14. "Fathers and Sons" (Working)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "I was your hero then

    I couldn't do no wrong as far as you were concerned

    You thought I was the best of men

    The tables hadn't turned

    You hadn't learned

    How little time it takes

    And daddies make mistakes"

    15. "Sunrise, Sunset" (Fiddler on the Roof)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "Is this the little girl I carried?

    Is this the little boy at play?

    I don't remember growing older

    When did they?"

    16. "Happy/Sad" (The Addams Family)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "I'm feeling happy, I'm feeling sad

    A little childish, a little Dad

    I think of all the days you've known

    All the ways you've grown

    See you on your own, and then

    I'm feeling happy and sad again"

    17. "Left Behind" (Spring Awakening)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "The talks you never had

    The Saturdays you never spent

    All the grown-up places

    You never went

    And all of the crying

    You wouldn't understand

    You just let him cry

    Make a man out of him"

    18. "Inútil" (In the Heights)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "And as a baby she amazed me with the things she learned each day

    She used to stay on the fire escape while all the other kids would play

    And I would stand beside her and I'd say,

    'I'm proud to be your father

    'Cause you worked so much harder

    And you are so much smarter

    Then I was at your age'"

    19. "Hey, Kid" (If/Then)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "And I think we'll have some fun here

    Your mom and you and me

    But before your time is done here

    Kid of mine, I hope you'll see

    That this life is what you make it

    It's cliche which means it's true

    And kid, it makes my life to know I helped make you"

    20. "Fathers of Fathers" (Closer Than Ever)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "Hey fathers, I love you

    I pray you'll pull through

    You cared for me, it's my turn now

    To take care of you"

    21. "Breeze Off the River" (The Full Monty)

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com

    "And I never feel like somebody somebody

    Calls a father

    I can't explain

    But when I look at you kid, it's like a mirror

    It spins my head, it wakes me"