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Daddy (Korn song)

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"Daddy"
Song

"Daddy" is a song recorded, and performed by American nu metal band Korn for their self-titled debut album. It is the album's 12th and final track.

Concept

The song originated in Jonathan Davis's former band Sexart.[1] The original concept came from Sexart member Dennis Shinn. As Shinn stated: "The song took on 2 lives. 1st being titled "Follow Me" as it was written and performed in our band we had together called Sexart. The song changed form when it was re-produced by Korn. The first version of the song; Lyrically portrayed from an older person's perspective, who is about to rape the mind of an "Innocent Child" sexually (being referenced as a virgin not an actual child metaphorically speaking). As the song focused more on the creepy element being their first sexual experience. The song carried a dark feel, both musically, and in lyrics. This is probably how, and exactly why Jonathan was able to channel a dark moment from his past when he was in the process of re-producing the song with Korn. Jonathan also gave the song a new title, "Daddy".

The band's singer, Jonathan Davis, has stated that the song is about his painful experience of being molested as a child and not being believed.[2] However, he denied it was about physical or sexual abuse at the hands of his father, and the title and some concepts within the song stem from his parents not believing him. The song caused many to assume Rick Davis (Jonathan's father) had molested his son. It is a source of embarrassment for him, though his son has gone on the record in many interviews saying it was written about a family friend who sexually abused him. When Jonathan Davis tried to turn to his family, they ignored him. Neither Jonathan nor Rick decided to say who the person was.[3]

In an early Kerrang! magazine interview, Davis commented on the song:

"When I was a kid, I was being abused by somebody else and I went to my parents and told them about it, and they thought I was lying and joking around. They never did shit about it. They didn't believe it was happening to their son.... I don't really like to talk about that song. This is as much as I've ever talked about it...."[4]

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Davis stated that he is comfortable performing the song now. Davis has stated in a YouTube video discussing the song. In the video, he said that the abuser was his babysitter and that the abuser died.[5]

Music and structure

The song eventually leads to Davis being stranded in a room, and shouting hostile things to whom it is not clarified which then leads to Davis weeping for a long period of time as a lullaby by vocalist Judith Kiener is heard and the band continues on playing an instrumental track until eventually a door is heard shutting. The rest of the band did not know that the song was about his childhood prior to recording.

After five minutes of silence at the end of the song, a discussion can be heard; a random audio clip that producer Ross Robinson found in an abandoned house. The argument revolves around a man named Michael and a woman named Geri conversing about the installation of a car part (apparently an exhaust manifold on a Dodge Dart). Michael can be heard yelling (profanity-laden) at Geri over the merits of the installation. This hidden track is called "Michael & Geri".

Live performance

The song is notable for, despite its popularity amongst fans, never being played live after the album version was recorded; an earlier version of the song was performed at each of their first three shows. Jonathan Davis says that the song is simply too personal for him to perform live.

"He's already emotionally drained when he leaves the stage after our set, so I couldn't imagine him leaving the stage after playing that song."[6] – Munky

Occasionally, an instrumental excerpt of the song would be used as an introduction to "Shoots and Ladders" during early live performances.

In an interview, Davis discussed how prior to Korn's Back 2 Basics Tour in 2003 with Limp Bizkit, the band allowed fans to vote on which songs would be in the setlist for that tour. "Daddy" topped the list, but he declined to have it on the setlist it because of its emotional atmosphere.

"I don't play that song live because it's just magic," Davis said. "If I play that song over and over every night, it'd lose its meaning. I don't want people to expect me to freak out like I did on that. That was what happened in that point in time, and that magic was captured, and I don't want to fuck with it."[7]

Korn announced they were going to play self-titled in full on tours to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the album including playing Daddy, however the band later stated they will only be playing their debut album in full at festivals hence not playing Daddy on the Prepare for Hell tour with Slipknot and King 810.[8]

Korn performed "Daddy" for the first time in nearly twenty years at the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas on March 13, 2015.

On March 17, 2015 Korn played the Pot O' Gold festival at Tempe Beach Park, Tempe Arizona. During this performance Korn played their first album in its entirety, including Daddy, to celebrate 20 years of Korn.

"Daddy" was played at Hellfest in Clisson, France in June 2015.

Demo version

The demo version of the song, which is found on Neidermeyer's Mind, is shorter than the album version. While the album version is 9:32 in length, the demo version is 4:29 in length. The demo does not feature the a cappella intro; it starts immediately with Fieldy's bass riff. It also has a different chorus. After the instrumental bridge, there is an extra part to the song with Jonathan Davis singing: "Mommy! Why did Daddy touch me there?" which leads into "I didn't touch you there."

References

  1. ^ Sexart
  2. ^ Barry Walters (December 1999). "Jonathan Davis, Public Freak on a Leash, Lashes Back". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
  3. ^ Chris Page (November 2002). "The Evolution of Korn (Hope on the Horizon)". Californian staff writer. Archived from the original on 2008-02-03. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  4. ^ Steffan Chirazi (October 1996). "Heart Of Darkness". Kerrang! interviewer. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  5. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kfgkj-ldv8. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ Tim Keneally. "Masters of disaster James Shaffer and Brian Welch divulge the secrets behind Korn's brooding style of twisted metal". Guitar World. Archived from the original on 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2007-09-28. [dead link‍]
  7. ^ [1] Archived 2009-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ [2]
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