"A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How)" is a song written by Liz Hengber, Thom Shepherd and Steve Williams, originally released by Shepherd in 2007 on his album Texas Girls, and was re-recorded by American country music artist Bucky Covington. It was released in March 2010 as his sixth single, and was intended to be included on an album titled I'm Alright, which ultimately went unreleased. It was later released on Covington's second studio album, Good Guys, in 2012.
| "A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Bucky Covington | ||||
| from the album Good Guys | ||||
| Released | March 8, 2010 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:18 | |||
| Label | Lyric Street | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Liz Hengber, Thom Sheperd, Steve Williams[1] | |||
| Producer(s) | Mark Miller | |||
| Bucky Covington singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Content edit
"A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How)" is a country ballad, driven by acoustic guitar and banjo with steel guitar fills. The song's male narrator describes the way his father shows his love for him by doing rather than saying. In the first verse his father spends time making sure his car is tuned up before he leaves for college, and in the second verse he visits his son at his new house and performs maintenance work on it. In the song's bridge, the son visits his father for his sixty-fifth birthday; before he leaves, his father inspects his car once again, showing "a father's love."
Critical reception edit
Sam Gazdziak of Engine 145 gave the song a thumbs-up, favoring Covington's vocal performance, which he compares to Marty Raybon from Shenandoah. Although Gazdziak felt the song was "predictable", he found the song had its "moments that feel genuine".[2] Matt Bjorke of Roughstock spoke favorably of the song, which he felt was "exactly the kind of song and performance that Bucky Covington needed to come out with to help re-establish himself as a mainstream country music artist." With its "soft acoustic, traditional-based melody" and "tender lyrics," Bjorke noted that it "feels like the kind of song that should be a hit in the hands of any singer."[3] Leeann Ward of Country Universe gave the song a B+ rating, describing Covington's vocals as "both believable and emotive" and noting the "pleasant production that does not shy away from the steel guitar."[4]
Chart performance edit
"A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How)" debuted at number 57 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of April 10, 2010. The song entered the Top 40 in its fourth week on the charts and peaked at number 23 in July 2010.
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5] | 23 |
| US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100[6] | 22 |
Sales edit
Covington's original version of the song sold 31,000 downloads in the United States.[7]
High Valley version edit
Canadian country music group High Valley covered the song on their 2010 self-titled album.[8] Their version was released as the album's third single on January 24, 2011, and debuted at number 98 on the Canadian Hot 100 for the week of April 16, 2011.
Chart performance edit
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[9] | 98 |
| Canada Country (Billboard)[10] | 12 |
References edit
- ^ Bucky Covington Releases New Single To Radio: "A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How)" Archived January 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gazdziak, Sam (2010-03-23). "Engine 145: Bucky Covington – "A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How)"". Engine 145. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (2010-03-03). "Roughstock Blog: Bucky Covington - "A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How)"". Roughstock. Archived from the original on 2010-03-07. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
- ^ Ward, Leeann (2010-03-24). "Country Universe: Single Review: Bucky Covington, "A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How)"". Country Universe. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
- ^ "Bucky Covington Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010. Record Research, Inc. p. 206. ISBN 978-0-89820-188-8.
- ^ Idol Chatter 07-28-2010
- ^ "High Valley". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ "High Valley Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ "High Valley Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2022.