Who's your daddy?

[Sally Donlon]

I have no citations to offer, but I must admit that I find
this topic bemusing because that question has been so
embedded in our culture here in coastal Louisiana, and
perhaps especially New Orleans, for time out of mind. Folks
here know, in the way that people generally come to "know"
cultural norms, for generations that a resume is only one
tool in the job-hunting toolbox. You had better be able to
give an acceptable answer to the "daddy" question on any
given job interview. Note, though, that pedigree need not
always be pure; just as often, an eccentric bloodline will
do the trick. Here, it's all about the story!

John Worthing's story about being left in a handbag in a
cloakroom [The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde]
could easily shoot one to upper management on the first
round of interviews.  :-)

I should add that the question is often put just that way:
Who's your daddy? I first began serious job hunting 30 years
ago and I knew I would hear it on my first interview. And I
did. That it has crept into popular songs and migrated into
general parlance is not surprising to me.

sally donlon





Orin Hargraves wrote:

>>>Anyone have any information about the origins of the phrase "Who's your
>>>daddy?" This phrase was
>>>recently used by Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez. A reporter wants to know.
>
>
> It might go back further than the Zombies 1969 hit "Time of the Season," but
> that's certainly what put it on the charts:
>
> What's your name?
> Who's your daddy?
> Is he rich like me . . .
>
>
>
> Orin Hargraves
>
>