What's your Song?
At the 2025 Speaker Slam® Grand Slam, the Inspirational Speaking Finals held at CBC Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Patrick Morrison delivered “What's your Song?”.
Transcript
Every single person here tonight has a soundtrack for their life. And I guarantee that there's one song that if it played right now, it would instantly remind you of someone you love. For me, one of those songs is, "Man, I feel like a woman. That's my mom's song. And that song I heard on repeat every Saturday morning when my mom turned up the volume on Shaniah Twain. Now, this is before Google. So, you have to picture my mom sitting at the kitchen table and handwriting all the lyrics to her favorite songs.
When I hear my mom's song, it reminds me of how fierce of a woman she was. My mom believed in being seen and heard. Now, my dad, he had a different kind of song. And when I think of him, I hear laughter. The kind that could fill a room and make you laugh, too. The song that my dad is remembered for is What's the matter of you? Hey, you got to know respect. Hey. And my dad, he stood at only 5'1.
And I remember when I was about 12 years old, he pulled me aside and said, "Son, don't ever tell your friends that your dad is stronger than their dad because your friends are now taller than me." And even though my dad worked long days in construction, he still made time to laugh and play with his kids. My dad believed in showing up for his family. even though they're gone, their songs play on. Now, my daughter, well, she's my little dancing queen.
And my son, his song's got to be Take Me Out to the Ball game. Oh, and my wife. One day, she was so upset with me that I thought her song was, "Baby, calm down. Calm down." Trust me, that is not her song. A couple years ago at work, we were tasked with this assignment. It was to come up with pictures or videos of something we were celebrating. I told my son about the project, and he innocently asked, "Well, Dad, what are you celebrating?"
Beer. That's when I realized that my song was 99 bottles of beer on the wall. That wasn't the song I wanted to be remembered for. So, I started to believe I can change my song. And I spent years backstage writing a new song verse by verse, becoming a better father, a better husband, a better me. Here's the truth. Every single one of us is holding a pen. Everyone here has a microphone. And we all have the power to write a song worth remembering.
And it all starts with believing that song that's in your heart. I believe in being seen and heard just like my mom. I believe in showing up for my family just like my dad. I believe in growing with my wife even when I get her song wrong. I believe in singing that song that's in your heart into existence. So maybe one day, long after I'm gone, it will be my kids turn to take this stage. And my hope is that I sing my new song.
Don't stop believing. Hold on to that feeling. So I ask you this. Can you feel it? Do you believe you can rewrite your song? And if so, what song will you be remembered for? Thank you.
Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.