I Love My Dad

[Verse 1]

When I was young, my father taught me

Not to gloat

If I came home too proud of myself

I'd get wrestled to the floor and choked

But I forgive him for that

He was an eighth grade dropout and I was being a brat

I forgive him, I do

I know that he loves me and he knows I love him, too

When I was young, my father told me

"To each his own"

The lady said as she kissed the cow

"Some like the fiddle, some like the trombone"

And I live by that rule

Your trip is your trip, and my trip is my trip, too

Yeah, I'll mind my own business

I'll have an O'Douls and my friend here will have a Guinness

[Chorus]

I love my dad (I love my dad)

I love my dad (I love my dad)

I love my dad (I love my dad)

I love my dad

[Verse 2]

Your kid goes to the private Berkeley school

With one Black kid

My kid goes to the public school

Came home with a cracked rib

And when my kid's eighteen

He'll be out there like I was, probably chasing his dreams

And when your kid's twenty-two

He'll have an internship at a law firm, and hey, that's okay, too

When I was five, I came home from kindergarten crying

'Cause they sat me next to an albino

My dad said, "Son, everyone's different

You gotta love 'em all equally, you know"

And then, my dad sat me down

He said, "You gotta love all people, pink, red, Black, or brown"

And then, just after dinner

He played me the album They Only Come Out at Night by Edgar Winter

[Verse 3]

When I was young, my dad taught me

The beauty of patience

We'd go and hang with his friend, Billy Brislin

All day in his Steubenville basement

We'd watch wrestling matches on TV

And Billy couldn't move 'cause he was handicapped

And I learned to shoot the shit

And how to care for those in need and to show respect

When I was a kid, my dad brought home a guitar

He got from Sears

I took lessons from a neighbor lady

But it wasn't going anywhere

He went and got me a good teacher

And in no time at all, I was getting better

I can play just fine

I still practice a lot, but not as much as Nels Cline

[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 4]

When I was young my dad told me

To pay gossip no mind

"When people talk bad on you

You gotta flick it off your shoulder like a fly

Learn to pick your punches

Don't get no tussles or dead-end ditches

Life is short, young man

Get out there and make the best of it while you can"

I ain't trying to say my dad

Was some kind of a perfect saint

When something set him off, I hit the floor

Quicker than what Mike Tyson did to Ricky Spain

I hit the floor so fast

But that was so long ago, and we both moved past it

My life is pretty good

I owe it to him, my dad did the best he could

[Chorus]

I love you dad

I love you dad

I love you dad

I love you dad