A Fathers Love The Only Way He Knew How

E A B A  D B


        A                                   E
For the longest time he was the kind I just didn't understand
                                      C#m              E
Hard to read and hard to please, yeah that was my old man
E                              A
On the day I left for college, it was nothing new
E
We never had that heart to heart, he had too much to do


B              C#m                  A
He checked the air in my tires, the belts and all the spark-plug wires
         E                                       A
He said "When was the last time you had this oil changed?"
B         C#m                                      A
And as I pulled out the drive he said, "Be sure to call your mom sometime"
    E
And I didn't hear it then but I hear it now
B                      E      A        B          A
He was saying "I love you," the only way he knew how

A E


B          A
A hundred twenty thousand miles and 6 years down the road
       E                                         C#m          B
Brand new life, a brand new wife, we just bought our first home
         A
When he finally came to visit, I thought he'd be so proud
E                                 D        B
He never said he liked the place, he just got his tool belt out
                   C#m                              A
And put new locks on the doors, went back and forth to the hardware store
        E                               F#m            A
He said "Come and hold this flashlight", as he crawled beneath the sink
B                      C#m         A
"These old wires ain't up to code and that circuit box is gonna overload"
E
And I didn't hear it then but I hear it now
B                      E     A        B         G
He was saying "I love you", the only way he knew how

G
But last Sunday we all gathered for his 65th birthday
D
And I knew he'd stiffen up, but I hugged him anyway
       G
It was finally time to say goodbye, I knew what was next
F#m                     E            B
Just like he always did right before we left


B              C#m                  A
He checked the air in my tires, the belts and all the spark-plug wires
         E                                       A
He said "When was the last time you had this oil changed?"
B         C#m                                      A
And as I pulled out the drive he said, "Be sure to call your mom sometime"
    E
And I didn't hear it then but I hear it now
B                      E      A        B          A
He was saying "I love you," the only way he knew how