Anyone who was at the Buckle & Boots Songwriters Round at The Paddock Stage would have heard a sneak preview of Gary Quinn's latest - "He's My Dad" cunningly scheduled for a pre Father's Day release When played there it had the extra hullaballoo of Gary's Dad being in the crowd to give him a hug on its completion and it fell in an afternoon of highly charged all round emotional songs.
For the single Gary and his Dad appear nicely superimposed over Gary's guitar and our biggest fear that this personal heartfelt story might get buried in a sloppy sentimental mix turned out to be needless. If anything it is slightly understated, the instrumentation of some gentle percussion, piano and pedal steel along with Gary's guitar make sure that it is his voice that is proudly upfron telling his tale.
There's a nice time travel element to the song - we see a young Gary with "Young boy's dreams" of being a Superhero or "Singing at the Opry like a Country celebrity!" and yet it is his Dad that most inspires him.
"He protects me with life's lessons and he made me understand that
Kindness and forgiveness are the real strengths of a man"
The secoond verse moves us forward to present day where not only is Gary still in awe of his Dad, but he realises that he hopes to be the same sort of inspiration to his own children.
It is undoubtedly the sort of thing that many leave unsaid and then later regret never having taken the time to express - so top marks to Gary for getting it out in the open and if it inspires the rest of us to say something while we can - that cannot be a bad thing.