FOUR STANZAS FOR ( AND FROM ) FATHERS

FOUR STANZAS FOR ( AND FROM ) FATHERS ( Verse ) Before you pull up the covers Before you shut out the lights Dust off these four records, please It's my only ounce of advice Start with Neil Young's sparklin' "Thrasher" Then The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" Next John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" And "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack ( Verse ) Whether in bombed bricks of Belfast Or the grass and sand of The Sudan The endless ice shelves of Antarctica Or skyscrapers of Tokyo Japan In Missoula Montana Red Bud Illinois Sacramento California All sort'a roads all kind'a boys ( Chorus ) Over gravel and concrete Asphalt or sticky mud There's Fathers behind the wheel Who lay down the law, but never judge They stood at the damp curb on that September morning With a building tear in their left eye Kindergarten bus rockin' side to side; melts away Thirteen years of yellow buses roll on by ( Harmonica solo with violin ) ( Verse ) May have skinned your ankle on your bike's pedal Later walked on eggshells, down long Church aisles Or came in eighth in the Pinewood Derby Soon brought Grandbabies into kitchen bursting smiles Now pour yourselves a creamy cup of cocoa Drag fresh strawberries through real whipped cream Drop the needle on that first ring of acoustic guitar Close your eyes, my Sons, sweetest of dreams ( French horn solo )