a father's love (the only way he knew how)

Lyrics

for the longest time he was the kind i just didn't understand, hard to read and hard to please, yeah that was my old man, on the day i left for college, it was nothing new, we never had that heart to heart, he had too much to do, he checked the air in my tires, the belts and all the spark-plug wires, he said "when was the last time you had this oil changed?", and as i pulled out the drive he said, "be sure to call your mom sometime", and i didn't hear it then but i hear it now, he was saying "i love you," the only way he knew how, a hundred twenty thousand miles and 6 years down the road, brand new life, a brand new wife, we just bought our first home, when he finally came to visit, i thought he'd be so proud, he never said he liked the place, he just got his tool belt out, and put new locks on the doors, went back and forth to the hardware store, he said "come and hold this flashlight", as he crawled beneath the sink, "these old wires ain't up to code and that circuit box is gonna overload", and i didn't hear it then but i hear it now, he was saying "i love you", the only way he knew how, but on sunday we all gathered for his 65th birthday, and i knew he'd stiffen up, but i hugged him anyway, it was finally time to say goodbye, i knew what was next, just like he always did right before we left, he checked the air in my tires, the belts and all the spark-plug wires, said "when was the last time you had this oil changed?", and as we pulled out the drive he said, "be sure to call your mom sometime", and i wish i knew back then what i know now, he was saying "i love you", he was saying "i love you", the only way he knew how