Watching Scotty Grow

Album: Watching Scotty Grow (1970)
Charted: 11
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This touching song is about the joys of fatherhood. The singer will take a night at home listening to music with his young son over a trip to the nightclub. Scotty will only grow up once.

    It's about the son of Mac Davis, who wrote the song when Scotty was 4 years old.
  • Mac Davis had written hits for Elvis Presley, including "A Little Less Conversation" and "In The Ghetto." He wrote "Watching Scotty Grow" for his debut album, released in 1970, but his publisher told him not to record it. "He said it didn't sound like me," Davis told Songfacts.

    How a very personal song about the singer's child doesn't sound like that singer is a question that may never be answered, but Davis took the advice and gave the song to Bobby Goldsboro, who had a huge hit with "Honey" in 1968. "Watching Scotty Grow" ended up being a substantial hit for Goldsboro; Mac Davis released his own version on his second album, I Believe In Music, in 1972.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Joan Armatrading

Joan ArmatradingSongwriter Interviews

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."

Ramones

RamonesFact or Fiction

A band so baffling, even their names were contrived. Check your score in the Ramones version of Fact or Fiction.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TV

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TVSong Writing

Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.

Grammar In Lyrics

Grammar In LyricsMusic Quiz

Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?