Guest Dad Joe Burris loves music, and he wonders whether kids are getting as much out of their music today as he did when he was coming of age. He's shared his list of seven songs with great lyrics to share with your children as they grow: 

"I am a music lover whose tastes know no boundaries, and as my 12-year-old daughter Nyaniso has grown, I have delighted in adding many of her music favorites to my personal collection.

"If it were not for listening to Radio Disney with her in the car, I would have likely never heard Bad Day by Daniel Powter, If We Were A Movie by Hannah Montana and Pon De Replay by Rihanna. Occasionally, I’ll blast those tunes from my car radio even when she’s not around.

"Yet sometimes it appears that the age gap in our music preferences is finally rearing its ugly head.

"Recently while riding home from work I tuned into a station that she and her friends listen to, and out of my speakers came the sound of a young artist rapping in a slow, southern drawl.

“Do da stanky leg! Do da stanky leg!”

"Actually, the song, Stanky Leg by the GS Boyz has grown on me, sort of. Certainly, my generation had its share of novelty songs, and I believe that every generation should have its own brand of cultural expression.

"Yet the more I digest much of today’s music, and the more it seems as if the airwaves are saturated with offerings like Stanky Leg, I wonder: Which artists are planting seeds of awareness for today’s youth?

"I ask because I was only eight years old when Marvin Gaye’s classic album, What’s Going On? was released in 1971. I was still a pre-teen when I heard Wake Up Everybody by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes and a young teen when I heard Dust in the Wind by Kansas.

"At the time, I was drawn primarily by the songs’ melodies; the lyrics didn’t resonate as much. Yet as I grew older, their messages became more and more relevant, and now they're timeless words of wisdom.

"I’ve searched for such messages in modern music, and often they’re difficult to come by. That’s why I’ve made a CD of songs for my daughter going back to the early 1960s and as recent as the late 80s. I’ve included seven songs from the track list is below, along with a memorable verse from each song. Hopefully, she’ll add a few of these songs to her personal collection.

1. Take A Look (1986), Aretha Franklin: “Take a look at your children before it’s too late and tell them nobody wins when the prize is hate.”

2. Respect Yourself (1971), The Staple Singers: “Keep talking ‘bout the President won’t stop air pollution./Put your hand over your mouth when you cough, that’ll help the solution.”

3. Wake Up Everybody (1975) Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes: “Wake up all you teachers, time to teach a new way./Maybe then they’ll listen to what you have to say.”

4. Why (1988), Tracy Chapman: “Why do the babies starve, when there's enough food to feed the world?”

5.  Dust In The Wind (1977) Kansas: “Nothing lasts forever, but the earth and sky./It drifts away, and all your money won’t another minute buy.”

6.  Mercy Mercy Me (1971), Marvin Gaye: “Where did all the blue skies go?/Poison is the wind that blows …”

7.  Blowin’ In The Wind (1963), Bob Dylan: “How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?”