Fears of a Father

Album: Lustre (2010)
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Songfacts®:

  • This is the closing track from Lustre, the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt. The record has a lighter mood compared with his previous releases. Harcourt told The Independent June 25, 2010 that the addition of a baby daughter is partly responsible. "You can't help but be inspired by it," he said. "Being someone who evidently wears his heart on his sleeve, I tend to write about things that happen to me. I try to put it in a way to communicate so people can relate to it."
  • Harcourt explained this song's meaning to The Independent. "It's just about trying to be that person and be more responsible. It's a growing-up album, I guess. It's so personal, it's like an open letter to what was, when I wrote it, an unborn child. It's saying I've changed a lot in the last four years – I was always worried that if I matured I would become really boring and conformist and too comfortable. I'm a bit more zen about things, whereas I was a lot more hot-headed, knee-jerk, reactionary. But I'm still passionate about stuff."

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