[Verse 1] Showed me how to play hard, taught me baseball Son, keep your eyes on the ball Showed me when you hit the ground you get up — stand tall The man could kick down a telephone pole And still be the first one to laugh at his own jokes [Pre-Chorus] I didn't see it then but I see it now He was loving me the only way he knew how [Verse 2] Taught me how to ride a bike, off ramps kissing the sky Always said be careful son, but never be afraid to fly Taught me how to shoot a gun — nine years old, dead on son Dad put iron in my spine and fire in my lungs [Pre-Chorus] I didn't see it then but I see it now He was loving me the only way he knew how [Verse 3] Taught me if they want it they can have it every day Don't care how big they are, you never run away Stand your ground, hold your own, look 'em in the eye Papa didn't raise no punk — they thought I was born to die [Pre-Chorus] I didn't see it then but I see it now He was loving me the only way he knew how [Chorus] Hard I live, hard I love, hard I die That's the blood he gave me, that's the reason why We didn't always see eye to eye But I love you fully now Always have, always will He's not perfect but he's perfectly mine Dad you live in me and I live in you I and my father are not two [Bridge] There were times the silence between us stretched for years Times I carried wounds I never thought would heal But the hand that was hard on me Was the same hand that held me up The fire that burned me Was the same fire that made me enough I stopped needing him to be different And found the father that was always there Forgiveness wasn't something I gave to him It was something I gave to me [Guitar Solo] [Final Chorus] Hard I live, hard I love, hard I die That's the blood he gave me, that's the reason why We didn't always see eye to eye But I love you fully now Always have, always will He's not perfect but he's perfectly mine Dad you live in me and I live in you I and my father are not two [Outro ‐ spoken] I would never want any different dad than the dad I had I love you dad
