Had A Dad

Had A Dad is a Jane’s Addiction song written back in 1985 by Perry Farrell and Eric Avery.

Lyrics

Nothing’s Shocking version:

Ahhh, Booga Booga!

I had a dad
Big and strong
I turned around, me
Found my daddy gone
He was the one
Made me what i am today
It’s up to me now
My daddy has gone away, lets rock!

Well I, spoke to the mountain
I listened to the sea
They both told me that the fountain
Was the best that you could be
My daddy’s hand it growed
Slow to the lickin’
Sonny boy
Grow to whip him!

If you see my dad
Tell him my brothers
All gone mad
They’re beating on each other
I walked around
Even tried to call
Had that funny feeling
He’s not there at all…
All…

If you see my dad
Tell him my brothers
All gone mad
They’re beating on each other
I walked around
Even tried to call
Got that funny feeling,
God is, dead
He’s not dead at all…
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
I had a dad
Big and strong
I turned around, me man
I found my daddy gone
He was the one
Made me what i am today
It’s up to me now
My daddy has gone away
Gone away
Gone away
He’s gone away

Yes said I had, I had a dad, I said I had, I had a dad,
I had, I had
I said I had, yeah yeah yeah yeah!

Demo version:

I had a dad
Big and strong
I turned around
Found my daddy gone
He was the one that
Made me what i am today
It’s up to me now
My daddy has gone away

Well I, spoke to the mountain
I listened to the sea
They both said that the fountain
Was the best that you could be
My daddy’s hand it growed
Slow to the lickin’
Sonny boy
Grow to whip him!
Uh!
What?

If you see my dad
Tell him my brothers
All gone mad
They’re beating on each other
I walked around
And even tried to call
Had that funny feeling
He’s ain’t there at all…
Yeah

If you see my dad
Tell him my brothers
All gone mad
They’re beating on each other
I walked around
And even tried to call
I have that funny feeling,
He ain’t there…
At all, yeah

I had a dad
Big and strong
I turned around, me man
I found my daddy gone
He was the one
Who made me what i am today
It’s up to me now
My daddy has gone away
Gone away
Gone away
Gone away
Gone away

I said I had, had a dad
I said I had, had a dad
I said I had, yeah yeah yeah yeah!

Song Intro

Perry says “Ahhh, Booga Booga!” at the beginning of Had a Dad. This has been confirmed by an old Jane’s Addiction tour ad found in the artwork of both Kettle Whistle and the Preparty Promo. This line is sampled in the song Ringfinger by Nine Inch Nails, it can be heard slightly sped up near the end of the song, at approximately the 4:01 mark.

Lyric Info

The lines at the start of the second verse ‘Well I, spoke to the mountain, I listened to the sea, they both told me that the fountain, was the best that you could be’ were originally lyrics intended for Mountain Song. While there are no known recordings of Mountain Song with these lyrics, they can be found on the end of the liner notes for the Kettle Whistle album.

Music Video

There is a music video for Had A Dad that was made for French television. It mixes live footage of the band with shots of them performing the song outside on a cliff. The audio used in the video is actually the demo recording of this song and not the version that appears on Nothing’s Shocking.

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