A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How) - Bucky Covington

For the longest time I guess I thought

He didn't give a damn

Hard to read hard to please

Yeah that was my old man

On the day I left for college

It was nothing new

We never had that heart-to-heart

He had too much to do

He checked the air in my tires

The belts and all the spark plug wires

Said When the hell's the last time

You had this oil changed

And as I pulled out the drive

He said Be sure and call your mom sometime

And I didn't hear it then but I hear it now

He was saying I love you

The only way he knew how

120 000 miles

Six years down the road

A brand new life and a brand new wife

We'd just bought our first home

When he finally came to visit

I thought he'd be so proud

He never said he liked the place

He just got his tool belt out

And put new locks on the doors

Went back and forth to the hardware store

Said Come and hold this flashlight

As he crawled beneath the sink

And these old wires ain't up to code

And that circuit box is gonna overload

And I didn't hear it then but I hear it now

He was saying I love you

The only way he knew how

Last Sunday we all gathered

For his 65th birthday

And I knew he'd stiffen up

But I hugged him anyway

When it was finally time to say goodbye

I knew what was next

Just like he always does

Right before we left

He checked the air in my tires

The belts and all the spark plug wires

Said When the hell's the last time

You had this oil changed

And as I pulled out the drive

He said Be sure and call your mom sometime

And I didn't hear it then but I hear it now

He was saying I love you

He was saying I love you

The only way he knew how