Lyrics

By Bryant Switzky

My dad was an Eagle Scout and a Peace Corps volunteer
He was a quiet man, but he taught me a lot
Like how to clean a fish and to hunt
To speak Spanish and tinker with junk

He taught me to swim
To dig for worms in the dirt
To drive a tractor and iron a shirt

He taught me the names of all the presidents
To dribble a soccer ball
And to stand up for myself when my back’s against the wall

He showed me how to deliver newspapers
To get up before the sun
To work through a problem until it's done

He taught me that even if you don't have a lot of money or nice things
Adventure is free

In a lot of ways, my dad and I are the same
In other ways, not
He died when I was 14
And I miss him a lot

Now that I'm a dad
I try to do like he did
I try to make him proud of how I'm raising my kids

I wish he could hear the sound of their laughter
From out there in the hereafter
If he could see them all wild and curious and free
I bet he'd say they remind him of me