Leader of the Band

"Leader of the Band" is a Dan Fogelberg song that he wrote for his 1981 The Innocent Age album.

The song was written as a tribute to his father, Lawrence Fogelberg, a musician and the leader of a band, who was still alive at the time the song was released. Lawrence died in August 1982, but not before this hit song made him a celebrity with numerous media interviews interested in him as its inspiration.

Regine Velasqez and Lucie Arnaz also covered the song as tributes to their fathers.

An only child alone & wild, a cabinet maker's son
His hands were meant for different work & his heart was known to none 
He left his home & went his lone & solitary way
And he gave to me a gift I know I never can repay
G - Bm C / Am Em Am CD / G - Bm C / Am Em AmD G  
A quiet man of music denied a simpler fate
He tried to be a soldier once but his music wouldn't wait
He earned his love thru discipline, a thundering, velvet hand
His gentle means of sculpting souls took me years to understand

The leader of the band is tired & his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs thru my instrument & his song is in my soul 
My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man
I'm just a living legacy to the leader of the band
 C Bm C G / Am Em Am FD / C Bm C G / Am Em GC G
My brothers' lives were different for they heard another call
One went to Chicago & the other to St. Paul
And I'm in Colorado when I'm not in some hotel
Living out this life I've chose & come to know so well

I thank you for the music & your stories of the road
I thank you for the freedom when it came my time to go 
I thank you for the kindness & the times when you got tough
And, pap, I don't think I said 'I love you' near enough --
lyrics & music by Dan Fogelberg© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.