Father's Song

I remember the man

Rising early in the morning

Smelling of starch and aftershave

Sometimes i would shave beside him

With a plastic razor and a cardboard blade

And watch his car disppear

Into the morning gray.

I remember the man

Talking so long on the telephone

His voice hard and polished like a precious stone

In command of itself and the darkness

He was not afraid in my hearing

Though sometimes he would rage

Without reason

Chorus:

There's a man i hardly remember

Who would hold me in his arms without flinching

And tell me it's all right

I put my hands out to my father

Standing strong in the water

When i could not swim

I held on to him

It was all right.

I remember the man

Shouting from the sidelines at my football games

He'd razz opposing players by their names

My mother would plead, oh please calm down

And he did when the game was over

He was so proud

Of his son.

I remember the man

Laid off last december

That's not what they called it

Twenty years with the firm

Eased out in favor of a younger man

Fear tugged at his voice

But he had other plans.

Chorus

I dreamed last night of my grandmother

She was tall and i a child

But death was hiding in her house

In the dark i saw her

A rotting shell

And i cried out

My father took my hand

And led me from that awful place.

Soon my parents will be old

They will count their dreams and weight them

One by one

Two lives long together, a daughter and a son

Many things accomplished, many left undone

Some left behind

For something better.

And once before he dies

I will hold him in my arms without flinching

And tell him it's all right

I put my hands out to my father

Standing strong in the water

When i could not swim

I held on to him

It was all right.