Like Father, Like Son (Papa's Song)

Album: The Quilt (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • On this track, Gym Class Heroes frontman Travie McCoy reminisces about how his childhood made him into the man he is today. His father, of Haitian descent, was tough on him; growing up in Geneva, New York, other kids got allowances but he had a paper route. He picked up a lot of music from his dad, who was a bass player and introduced Travie to funk and soul.
  • The song borrows from "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" by The Temptations as McCoy compares his father to the antagonist in that song who leaves his family behind to chase women. According to his lyric in "Like Father, Like Son," McCoy's dad was married four times and had six kids with three different women. McCoy states that the urge to stray didn't get passed down to him, so it's hard for him to understand why his dad couldn't settle down.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The Kingdom

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

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.

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.

British Invasion

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

Chris Rea

Chris ReaSongwriter Interviews

It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.