When Daddy Let Me Drive

It was painted red

It's stripe was white

It was 18 feet

From the bow to the stern light

2nd hand from a dealer in Atlanta

I rode up with daddy

When he went there to get her

Put on a shine

Put on a motor

Built out of love

And made for water

Ran it for years

Till the transom got rotton

A piece of my childhood that'll never be forgotten

It was, just an old plywood boat

75 johnson with electric choke

A young boy, two hands on the wheel

I cant replace the way it made me feel

And I would turn it shore line, and, make it wide

He'd say, ya can't beat the way an old wood boat rides

Just a little lake across the Alabama line

But I was king of the ocean, when daddy let me drive

Just an old 1/2 ton, short-bed Ford

My uncle bought new, in '64

Daddy got it right

Cause the engine was smokin'

Couple of burnt valves and he had it goin'

He'd let me drive her when we'd haul off a load

Down a dirt strip, where we'd dump trash

Off of Thickpin Road

I would sit on the seat

And stretch my feet out to the pedals

Smiling like a hero that just received his medal

It was just an old hand-me-down ford

With 3 speed on the column

And a dent in the door

A young boy, 2 hands on the wheel

I can't replace the way it, made me feel

And I would press that clutch and I'd keep it right

He'd say a lil' slower son you're doin' just fine

Just a dirt road with trash on each side

But I was Mario Andretti

When daddy let me drive

Im grown up now 3 daughters of my own

I let 'em drive my old jeep

Cross the pasture at our home

Maybe one day they'll reach back in their file

And pull out that old memory

And think of me and smile, and say

It's just an old worn out jeep

With rusty ole floor boards

Hot on my feet

A young girl, two hands on the wheel

I can't replace the way it, made me feel

And he'd say, turn it left now, and steer it right

Straighten up girl now, you're doin' just fine

Just a lil' valley by the river where we'd ride

But I was high on a mountain, when daddy let me drive

Daddy let me drive

Oh he let me drive

She's just an old plywood boat with a 75 johnson n'electric choke