#103 Fat Little Babies
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Musically, this tune is a playful riff on that “border ska” faux norteño vibe Camper Van Beethoven used to mess around with. Honestly, most of the creative juice here went straight into the music. It’s mainly me and Luke Moller trading licks, riffing on all those classic Northern Mexican sounds. For an Australian fiddler, Luke absolutely nails it. It’s uncanny—like he spent his youth cruising around Southern California, soaking up all those “Mexican Regional” radio stations. The only thing we’re missing is a herd of tuba and trumpet players to really bring that wild, brassy energy to the party.
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Lyrically—if I’m being straight with you—there’s not a whole lot going on. Apparently, I come off as firmly pro-natalist, which is a strange thing to have to declare these days. What a bizarre world, where there’s a whole pseudo-intellectual crowd arguing we should stop having kids so we don’t upset the forest sprites. At least, that’s the vibe in certain circles in The West. But honestly, sometimes I think it’s just a handy excuse for folks who don’t want to let go of the single-adult lifestyle. Back in my twenties, I was pitching the idea to my girlfriend that we should just fill up a station wagon with babies and figure it out as we went—while secretly dreading the loss of late-night hangs, good food, and music with friends. So on some level I get it.
And there’s some truth there. Sure, you can try to have it both ways, but then you end up with “Fat little babies, wake you with a hangover.” That’s not just a lyric—that’s exactly what happened when my boys were small.
I’m also poking at that old trope—“a baby will fix everything.” It used to be grandmotherly wisdom; then it got recycled in rom-coms as a punchline. Now, some academics call it a harmful myth, cruel to people who can’t or don’t want to have kids.
But for me, the idea that babies fix everything wasn’t far off. I was in my late thirties when my first kid arrived, and it really forced me to grow up—made me a kinder, more patient human. Fifteen years in the music business had me turning into a bit of a narcissist. It took a few more years to quit drinking and sort myself out, but the moment our son was born, it was like the world gained a whole new dimension. My sense of purpose changed overnight. Even now, with my sons grown and living their own lives, I’m still amazed at how much they continue to change me.
Of course, becoming a parent doesn’t magically fix everyone—especially in showbiz. I know plenty of artists who are still as selfish and narcissistic as ever, kids or no kids. I remember watching this showbiz couple at a festival, just behaving terribly in front of their twelve-year-old. One of the younger women in our crew was watching too, and she leans over and says, “That kid’s gonna write a hell of a memoir someday—just hope he doesn’t have to become an alcoholic or a junkie first.”
So, I guess the low bar moral of the story is this: try to be the kind of parent your kids can’t make a bestseller out of.
Fat little babies riding on a cosmic chariot
Fat little babies trip the light fantastic
Fat little babies won’t fix everything between you and me
Fat little babies the mystery of the universe
C’mon darling everything will be all right
We should have a station wagon full
Of fat little babies
C’mon darling everything will be all right
We should have a station wagon full
Of fat little babies
Fat little babies wake you with a hangover
Fat little babies eating from the dog food dish
Fat little babies can’t make you like me any less
Fat little babies what’s it gonna hurt?
C’mon darling everything will be all right
We should have a station wagon full
Of fat little babies
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David Lowery: vocals, guitars and bass
Luke Moller: strings
David Lowery- Fathers Sons and Brothers is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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