The song originated in Jonathan Davis's former band Sexart. 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 is lyrically portrayed from an older person's perspective, who is about to rape the mind of an "Innocent Child" sexually. 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 a painful experience of being molested as a child and not being believed. 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 that Jonathan's father Rick Davis had molested his son. It is a source of embarrassment for Rick, though his son has goneon the record in many interviews saying it was actually written about a family friend. Jonathan and Rick both decided not to say who the person was. In an early Kerrang! magazine interview, Davis commented on the song: In an interview with Rolling Stone, Davis stated that he is comfortable performing the song now. Davis has also uploaded a video discussing the song to YouTube. In the video, he said that the abuser was his babysitter; who had since died.
Music and structure
The song eventually leads to Davis being stranded in a room, and shouting hostile things presumably to the abuser, which then leads to Davis weeping for a long period of time as a lullaby by vocalist Judith Kiener is heard. The band continues on playing an instrumental version until eventually a door is heard shutting. The rest of the band did not know that the song was about Davis' childhood prior to recording. After about five minutes of silence at the end of the song, a discussion can be heard; a random audio clip that producer Ross Robinson found inside an abandoned house. The argument revolves around a man named Michael and a woman named Geri conversing about the installation of a car part. Michael can be heard yelling 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 among 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. 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 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." Korn announced they were going to play their self-titled album 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. 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. The song was also performed for the band's 20th anniversary tour.
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."
