How I Say It

Well, I get up before the sun and the world are wide awake, I got calluses on these fingers from every sacrifice I make. You won't hear me talkin' pretty when I walk through that front door, Just a tired old man working down to the core. So don't think I don't care, baby, don't think I don't feel, When I'm breaking my back just to keep this table filled. If I forget to say the words, Lord, it ain't 'cause my heart is through— 'Cause working hard for you, that's how I say I love you. I've seen the winter winds blowin' through a busted windowpane, And I swore my babies wouldn't ever know that kind of pain. So I take the double shifts, and I take the cold hard rain, Swallow down my pride just to keep us off that lonesome train. Some men buy you diamonds, some men sing a pretty song, Lord knows I ain't the one who can tell you where we went wrong. My hands got rough, and my tongue gets tied, But look at the roof I built and the walls that kept us safe inside! Now you look at me sometimes like you're searching for a spark, Yeah, you look right through me searching for a spark in the dark. You say "I love you" easy, like breathing morning air, And you wonder if this old man even knows you're there. Well, check the coat upon your back, check the shoes upon our little ones— That's me working through the tears just to see my family's loved . So never doubt my soul, never doubt my heavy stride, I might not say it out loud, but I carry you inside. Yeah, actions speak louder than the words we leave behind... That's my love, working blind. Mm, that's how I say I love you.