“What was a 24-year-old boy doing telling fathers?” John Mayer admits one of his biggest hits was “very selfish” and written with “young logic”
John Mayer has reflected on his 2003 track Daughters, saying he wrote it from a “selfish” place, and questioning whether he had the authority at the time to convey the message he intended to.
During a recent appearance at HISTORYTalks – a live speaker series in which prominent figures give public talks – the guitar legend recounted his inspiration behind the track, which featured on his 2003 album, Heavier Things.
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The song itself sees Mayer giving fathers advice on how to raise their daughters, and more specifically how raising them right affects how they’re able to experience love in a healthy way. Mayer was 25 when the album was released, and currently has no children.
“What was a 24-year-old boy doing, telling fathers,” Mayer said during the event before breaking into laughter [via People].
Beyond the surface of what the song was about, Mayer revealed he had something of a personal agenda while writing it, explaining he was unable to be with a woman he loved.
“I was thinking in very circuitous and clever ways that it was really about me, a young guy, so selfishly upset that he couldn’t be with the woman he loved, because he thought that her father must have had something to do with it,” he continued.
“When you’re young… that’s young logic, and it plays really well in songs. It just does. ‘Come over. I know [we’re] horrible for each other, come over,’ [type of] young.”
He added that “older logic” doesn’t necessarily make for great songs: “Had a tough day, coped with it.’ It’s a tough song to write. ‘Had a rough morning, took a look at the bright side, got a good phone call later, reminded myself, ‘What was I doing worrying?’ It’s not a chorus!”
Listen to Daughters below:
Elsewhere, John Mayer recently reflected on his nerves before performing with Dead & Company for the first time. Explaining how he was desperate to prove himself to the band’s fans and to late Grateful Dead legend Bob Weir – who died earlier this year – he said: “I couldn’t help overplaying in some of those first few tours. You just do.
“Even if I knew not to overplay, I’m still going to overplay. It’s going to be wordy. I have to adjust my way into the 10-ring on the target.”
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