I came home from college to see my old man
He was sitting on the porch swing a book in his hand
He stared at my earring and at my tattoo
Smiled, shook his head, said It's good to see you.
He chose his words carefully For it was hard for me to come
And he knew I had a temper and where I got it from
I waited for the sermon. The one I knew so well
But this time he wasn't preaching about heaven or hell He said
A real man knows the value of a woman
A real man's got nothing to prove (man's - contraction for man has)
He's strengthen by love and the Lord up a-bove
To do the best you can To be a real man
Could it be that I saw just a glimpse of his soul
Or maybe losing momma had just taken it's toll
He gave me his bible, stained with tears he had cried
I open up the cover where he wrote inside And it said,
To do the best you can to be a real man