PG-43: Music
4. Daddy Never Said I Shouldn't Cry
(PG-43)
To my mom and my brother and sisters: this is the commercialized re-write of the song I wrote about Dad. The original was not a good song, the song craft being just as weak as most of my earliest works. That draft confirmed the general rule that writing a song limited to a specific episode in the songwriter's life will in all likelihood produce a work that does not reach the heartstrings of a mass of people. Plus, it was too hard to play the old version without crying. Given that Dad is the inspiration for the re-written version here, it still wets the eyes.
LYRICS
Daddy said I shouldn't fear the ball - hang in there and build my nerve
I shouldn't have to take a fall
Every time life throws me a curve
But I didn't let it bother me when a tear went rolling down my cheek
The first time a fast ball hit me in the thigh
Cause Daddy never said I shouldn't cry
Daddy said I shouldn't be afraid to let my feelings show
And after a broken heart or two
When true love found me I'd know
So I never even tried to hide the wrenching pain I felt inside
When the girl I thought was mine told me good-bye
Cause Daddy never said I shouldn't cry
I knew what he was thinking raising me to be a man
I knew he thought I'd be like him one day
I knew that's what he wanted and I wish I could've been
But I never even made it half the way
Daddy said I shouldn't mourn for him after he was gone
He was proud of what I'd learned from him and his grandson carried on
And I don't think he thought the less of me
When I sobbed uncontrollably
As I held his hand and watched him slowly die
Cause Daddy never said I shouldn't cry
No Daddy never said I shouldn't cry
Copyright © Oct 2008 Financial Guidance, Inc. 331 West Dixie Ave Elizabethtown, KY
Words and music: T. Michael Jones; Lead vocals: T. Michael Jones; Keyboards: Walt Cunningham; Mandolin and Fiddle: Hoot Hester; Electric bass: Dow Tomlin; Drums: Steve Holland; Acoustic guitar: Bob Angello; Engineer: Skip Mitchell; Production: T. Michael Jones.