You Should Know

It's been a hard twelve months,
Story of my life, but I ain't lied once,
And I won't start now - God as my judge,
I stay honest with the facts like a real man should.

I'll take it from the top, let you hear the lot,
From the love your Mum forgot, to her cutting me off,
My name is Ben Scott but you can call me Dad,
I'm the Father you're Mother never wanted you to have.

Let's take it back, December twenty-eleven,
Me and Mummy opted for an Angel sent from Heaven,
We made changes to accommodate you in our world,
Planned out a future with our own baby girl,
But something must've changed, Mummy acting strange,
End of January came left Daddy alone again,
Mummy cut the ties, called it damage limitation,
A week later saw Daddy waiting round impatient,
The clearblue test came back with a plus,
You had been conceived, Daddy quit the drugs,
From that moment you affected, everything he does,
Changed for the better just for you, out of love.

But it didn't seem enough, so Daddy tried harder,
Tried to sort it out so I could be the perfect Father,
We went to the doctors for the confirmation,
Informed you were real after sitting and waiting,
Mummy suggested that me and her should live together,
So we could raise you right and you're life could be better,
First saw your heartbeat at the eight week scan,
And inside I knew that I would do anything I can,
Me and Mummy were okay but far from perfect,
In Chester for her birthday made Daddy feel worthless,
Arguments and distance, suspicions and doubt,
Ended up with your Mummy and your Daddy falling out.

Then was the twelve week scan where we saw you again,
Even though things were rocky even way back then,
It was April, we bought you a car seat and a pram,
And Daddy paid for a private 16 week scan,
Daddy switched jobs so he could see you more,
Mummy saw this as a chance for war,
Bought you a cot then asked Daddy for some cash,
Daddy didn't have at the time your Mummy asked,
Said it left her skint, made me feel a failure,
Then went out and bought a car two days later,
Told Dad he wasn't welcome at the 20 week scan,
Claimed that this was always part of the plan,
Threatened to break in Daddys house just because,
He refused to take all her stuff 4 miles on a bus.

I saw you again when you were 16 weeks,
And got footage of you moving on a DVD,
I uploaded it on Facebook which gave an excuse...
For your Mummy and her friend to give your Daddy abuse,
Said that you were never planned, that Daddy was a liar,
But Daddy had the evidence to make that backfire...
So her friend backed off, and so did your Mummy,
Then 5 days later asked Daddy for some money,
I paid £130 although I couldn't afford too,
I knew you were worth it so it's something I fought through.

A few days later your Mum was back to pick a fight,
Because I'd made a song about you staying in my life,
Demanded that I never mentioned you to the world,
To pretend I wasn't happy about my own baby girl,
Your Nana questioned Mummy if she was sure you were mine,
Because your Mummy was trying to cut me off all the time,
Mummy threatened Daddy that he'd never get to see you,
And said that your Nana would never ever get to meet you,
Daddy chose your name, you're my Ilysha Jade,
Spelt I.L.Y. - because I Love You babe,
Mummy asked Daddy not to let the world know your name,
But a few weeks later she went and told them all the same.

Mummy came to Daddy's house so he could feel you kick,
Then laughed afterwards that you'd slept through it,
I was called a sperm donor and your Mother agreed,
Then she took you off to Turkey flying overseas,
Whilst you were abroad Daddy learned those truths,
Educated the world about the lies and abuse,
So when Mummy returned she was not best pleased,
I could be at the birth though she still agreed,
Said that Daddy could see you all Paternity leave,
And pretty much every night, it was hard to believe,
It had truly seemed that we'd finally buried the hatchet,
And the reassurances? Nothing else could match it.

We were close through July, everything seemed okay,
I had Mummy's bank details so I could transfer my pay,
Paid her £180 so she could buy you nice stuff,
And sent laminated copies of your scans to put up,
In August your Daddy made your Mummy a picture,
It was a timeline of your growth that Mummy took with her,
When she came to see Daddy for a chat and a drink,
We discussed your birth plans and everything.

Mummy sent Daddy a link so he could see you kick,
Whilst hearing my song - you danced along to it,
We discussed delayed cord clamping, because Mummy knew,
That Daddy wanted to be there to cut the cord for you,
Confirmed that I would be there to see you into the world,
To bear witness to the birth of my baby girl,
Mummy was moving house at the end of September,
She invited Daddy round to take photo's to remember,
I went to Mummys old flat to get pictures of your bump,
Daddy stayed for 3hrs, and we never argued once,
I took a photo in her house as a memory that day,
Shared it with the world to show that we were both okay.

Mid September, still everything was going fine,
Then Mummy texted Daddy saying that she had changed her mind,
Daddy was no longer welcome to be at your birth,
This upset Daddy but he tried to make it work,
Agreed he could still cut the cord as anticipated,
But he would only be informed at 5cm dilated,
Daddy was concerned that he would miss the opportunity,
But Mummy said tough which left your Daddy losing sleep,
He tried to argue but your Mummy wouldn't budge,
Then she made an issue out of anything she could.

The picture at her flat where she no longer lived,
Was made into an excuse that she couldn't forgive,
Used it as a reason to question the trust,
And then as ammunition to justify what she does,
Said Daddy would never be allowed to take your picture,
He couldn't know the address where she moved to with ya,
To expect not to see you the week after your birth,
I tried to contest but that just made it worse.

Daddy backed off to give your Mummy some space,
Then you were born at 43 minutes past eight,
Your Daddy got a call around half past nine,
Saying that you'd been born and everything was fine,
I was welcome to come to the maternity ward,
But I'd missed the opportunity to cut your cord,
Mum said it wasn't her fault, she didn't intend,
Yet during the labour she'd been texting her friend,
I held you for an hour, too overwhelmed to weep,
I silenced you crying and I rocked you to sleep.

After your birth I asked daily to see you,
But Mummy refused - wouldn't let Daddy near you,
You came my house for an hour finally 4 days later,
But I couldn't hold you on the off chance I would wake ya,
I kept asking to see you, but talking to walls,
Mummy told me just one hour a week or nothing at all,
Told not to show you off, my own baby girl,
Whilst Mummy's friend shared your photo with the world.

Another 4 days passed before I saw you again,
I had to come to your Nanas and sit with them,
I was subjected to abuse and told not to fight,
Because when it came to you - Daddy has no right,
So he went to a solicitors to fight for you,
He wanted to be there and do right by you,
Once more Mummy decided to go behind his back,
Left Daddy off your birth certificate and laughed,
So that was that... Daddy pushed ahead with court,
The solicitor offered him her full support,
They arranged mediation to try to talk it through.
Mummy and Daddy could discuss their support for you.

Then Daddy came to see you for the final time,
And your Mummy and her family crossed the final line,
Your Nana threatened your Daddy, shouting harsh abuse,
For the things that she said there is no excuse,
Called Daddy a sperm donor, that's all he'd ever be,
That your birth certificate he had no right to see,
Said that cause your Daddy had chose to fight for you,
That he can't see you until the courts are through.