Keith Urban recalls writing “Song For Dad” – and the words he never said when his father passed away

For Keith Urban, every song carries a story, but “Song For Dad” holds a place unlike any other. It’s not merely a tribute to his father – it is a musical diary, preserving feelings too deep to be spoken aloud. From his childhood days in Whangarei, New Zealand, Keith’s father, Robert Urban, encouraged and supported his musical dreams. He didn’t just buy Keith his first guitar; he drove countless miles to small gigs, quietly standing at the back, always present, always watching.

In 2002, while working on his Golden Road album, Keith walked into the studio with the intention of writing something deeply personal. Alone in the quiet room, memories of his father flooded back – afternoons spent on the porch, simple pieces of advice that stayed with him forever. Within hours, “Song For Dad” took shape: a gentle melody wrapped around lyrics filled with respect and the longing to be like the man who raised him. “I realized I was becoming him – not just in how I acted, but in how I saw the world,” Keith once said.

But the story behind the song became even more poignant in 2015, when Robert Urban passed away after a long illness. At the height of his career, Keith remained silent for days, unable to speak publicly. Later, he revealed his greatest regret: he never said “I love you” in that final moment. “I thought he knew… but I wish I’d said it, just once more,” he confessed.

Song For Dad

Since that day, every time Keith performs “Song For Dad,” it’s more than just music for an audience – it’s a private message to his father, somewhere beyond. The song has become a bridge between the living and the departed, a continuation of a conversation left unfinished. For fans, it’s proof of music’s power to connect souls, to span the distance between now and then, between those who stay and those who go.

🎵 Suggested listening: Song For Dad – Keith Urban

Lyrics:

Lately I’ve been noticin’I say the same things he used to sayAnd I even find myselfActin’ the very same way, mmm
I tap my fingers on the table to the rhythm in my soulAnd I jingle the car keys when I’m ready to goAnd when I look in the mirror he’s right there in my eyesStarin’ back at me and I realize
The older I get the more I can seeHow much he loved my mother and my brother and meAnd he did the best that he couldAnd I only hope when I have my own familyThat every day I see a little more of my father in me, yeah
There were times I thought he was bein’Just a little bit hard on meBut now I understand he was makin’ meBecome the man he knew that I could be, mmm
In everything he ever did, he always did with loveAnd I’m proud today to say I’m his sonWhen somebody says I hope I get to meet your dadI just smile and say you already have
The older I get the more I can seeHow much he loved my mother and my brother and meAnd he did the best that he couldAnd I only hope when I have my own familyThat every day I see a little more of my father in me
He’s in my eyes my heart, my soulMy hands, my pride and when I feel aloneAnd I think I can’t go on, I hear him sayin’, “Son, you’ll be alrightEverything is gonna be alright”, yes it is
The older I get the more I can seeThat he loved my mother and my brother and meAnd he did the best that he couldAnd I only hope when I have my own familyThat every day I see, oh, I hope I seeOoh, I hope every day I see a little more of my father in meYeah, a little more of my father in me
I hope every day I see in me, in me, in meI hope every day I see a little more of my father in me