Taylor Moss’ gift to her dad in her song Real Man starts conversation on tradies’ mental health

Country music star Taylor Moss and her father Chad have bravely shared his mental health struggle in her heartbreaking song, which has struck a chord with fans all over the globe.

Country pop artist Taylor Moss held her father Chad as he sobbed uncontrollably, collapsed on the kitchen floor.

Her tradie and truck-driving dad had silently battled mental illness for decades, keeping a lid on the crippling anxiety and pain he suffered due to childhood family trauma and a rare neurological disorder which was affecting his ability to work.

When Chad walked into the family home in Noosa that night in late 2019, he said he hit rock bottom.

“I didn’t feel like a man anymore, I felt very worthless, I felt like I couldn’t provide for my family, which is a really big thing for me,” Chad said.

“I didn’t want to be here anymore.”

Taylor Moss and her dad whose mental health struggled inspired her song Real Man. Picture: Supplied.

Taylor called an ambulance. After his release from hospital, he faced ongoing challenges to manage his mental health and CIPD (Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy), the auto-immune disorder which was attacking his nerves.

“My father was going through a super rough time then. My mum (Kirsty) called me and said, ‘Your dad doesn’t want to be here anymore, and I can’t talk him out of it this time.’ I jumped in the car and went to see him. He was just sitting on the kitchen floor and he was hysterically crying.

“As an adult daughter, having to call an ambulance for my dad, saying my dad needs help, was so, so hard. Everyone says parents are there for their children, they get embarrassed when you have to help them emotionally,” Taylor said.

“There’s a huge stigma around that. Parents think they have to be perfect.”

Father and daughter have always been close. Picture: Supplied.

The close-knit pair are each other’s support system when they have a bad “moment”; Taylor also suffers from anxiety.

But when she moved to Melbourne, she could no longer do that seven-minute drive from her Sunshine Coast home to be there for him.

So she wrote him a song called Real Man. She played it on her acoustic guitar over the phone to him when he called after a bad night.

“He’s got this vulnerable and gentle side, Seen tears in those hazel eyes, I held him in the kitchen while he let em fall, The strongest soul I’ve ever met, My steady rock, my truest friend, When I’m in trouble he’s the one I call,” she sings.

It was a gift from daughter to father. Chad was moved that his fight for his health, and courage in opening up to his family about his inner battles, had inspired her.

“It got me going again that day. I felt like there is something to keep going for, for her to write something like that about another human being, especially being me, meant a lot. OK, it’s time to get up and have a crack and keep going,” he said.

The song has now taken on a much bigger life in recent weeks. Moss has built a global fanbase with more than 10 million streams of her songs, was nominated for Best New Artist at this year’s Golden Guitars and performed on Farmer Wants A Wife.

@taylormossmusic

Replying to @Cassie Anderson yes yes yes Cassie!!!! PLEASE get it filmed. Im so excited for you 🥺🥺❤️❤️ #fatherdayghterdance

♬ Real Man - Taylor Moss

Real Man is taking off on social media, soundtracking milestone moments from father and daughter dances at weddings to tributes to dads no longer here.

With Chad agreeing to bravely share his story, the pair are also using the song to drive the TIACS (This Is A Conversation Starter) campaign for the men’s mental health charity which supports tradies and farm workers.

“It was really important for me to share the story behind the song because I never intended to put it out, I wrote it for dad,” she says.

“So I rang him and asked how he felt about us getting involved with TIACS, who look after blue collar workers, and talking about his experience with mental health.

“And like an absolute champion, he said ‘Anything, darling, anything. If my opening up helps one person then I’ve done my job.”

Tradies and farm workers and their families in need of free mental health counselling can call or text TIACS on 0488 846 988 or via https://www.tiacs.org/

Originally published as Taylor Moss’ gift to her dad in her song Real Man starts conversation on tradies’ mental health