The Daughters

Album: Nightfall (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "The Daughters" is a poignant song about the plight of women growing up who are told what to do and how to look throughout their lives. LBT's Karen Fairchild wrote the tune with Sean McConnell and Ashley Ray.
  • The video, directed by Dano Cerny, was shot in a late 1940s Portland, Tennessee gymnasium. It features a contemporary dance troupe who perform in muted lighting while Little Big Town sing the song. The routine was created by Los Angeles-based choreographer Andrew Winghart, who has worked with pop singer Lorde in the past.
  • Little Big Town's Kimberly Schlapman has a daughter named Daisy with her husband, Stephen, while her bandmate Phillip Sweet and his wife Rebecca have a daughter named Penelopi. Schlapman told WGNA's Brian & Chrissy in the Morning that the track's subject matter is something the band really care about.

    "This song is about daughters and just teaching girls to believe in yourself and you can do anything," she said. "Traditionally, women haven't had the freedom to do everything maybe that they've always dreamed of - but we do."
  • The empowering ballad was written as a message of hope for the future.

    And pose like a trophy on a shelf
    Dream for everyone but not yourself
    I've heard of God the Son and God the Father
    I'm still looking for a God for the daughters


    "This song is about the laundry list of expectations and longstanding traditions that are place on women," Fairchild explained to CMT. "It's about equality. It's about hope for our children and what their view of the world will be. It's not about a lack of believing in God, or God's love for girls."
  • A second video was released a week later that extends the narrative of the "Dancers Cut." The new version adds retrospective story lines that follows a female high school student from the 1950s, 1980s, and current day. Each refuse to follow society's expectations and instead take their own path. The same lead actress portrays the three high schoolers.
  • Little Big Town kick off the song with a pointed verse about the different standards that are put on women compared with men, and how the pressure to look good starts at an early age.

    Girl, shoulders back and stand up straight
    Girl, watch your mouth and watch your weight


    Little Big Town explained to Genius: "There is something I think about the way we grew up of like, don't forget to put your lipstick on and get cleaned up before you come in and look good. Look good, stand up straight, all those things and that's what that lyric, the reason why we start the song like that."

Comments: 2

  • Louichan from JapanI think this is one of their best songs, and it is also coming from the perspective of all the members being parents (Kimberly and Phillip both have daughters, and Karen and Jimi have a son together). To me, it isn't putting men down or going against God, or some of the other things I've seen people read into it online. It's pointing out the stereotypes that girls have been held to. and society's pressures on them to look good, act nice, put everyone else's needs first... things that still happen today. It's a plea to ensure our daughters are given equal attention and chances with their brothers, and encouraged to be all they can be, whatever path they choose. Raised and empowered to know they are lovable and worthy of love just as they are. The line 'Damn, I love my son, I love my father' shows that the singer isn't casting away the men in her life; she just wants to highlight and celebrate her daughter, and by extension, all the women she knows and loves (herself included). Traditional Christianity is built around a paternalistic view of culture and society. This song is just saying, let's embrace our daughters, too.
  • Tgjw from VaI still don't understand what the line "I'm still looking for a God for the daughters" means?
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in Rock

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in RockSong Writing

We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.

Maxi Priest

Maxi PriestSongwriter Interviews

The British reggae legend tells the story of his #1 hit "Close To You," talks about his groundbreaking Shabba Ranks collaboration "Housecall," and discusses his latest project with Robin Trower.

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music Scene

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-Outs

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-OutsSong Writing

The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.