Drive (For Daddy Gene)

It was painted red, the stripe was white

It was eighteen feet from the bow to stern light

Secondhand from a dealer in Atlanta

I rode up with daddy when he went there to get her

Put on a shine, put on a motor

Built out of love and made for the water

Ran her for years till the transom got rotten

A piece of my childhood, it'll never be forgotten

It was just an old plywood boat

With a '75 Johnson with electric choke

A young boy, two hands on the wheel

I can't replace the way it made me feel

And I would turn her sharp, and I'd make it whine

He'd say, "You can't beat the way an old wood boat rides"

Just a little lake 'cross the Alabama Line

But I was king of the ocean

When daddy let me drive

Just an old half ton, short-bed Ford

My uncle bought new in '64

And daddy got it right 'cause the engine was smoking

Couple of burnt valves and he had it going

He'd let me drive her, we'd haul off a load

Down a dirt strip where we'd dump trash off of Thigpen road

I'd sit up in the seat and stretch my feet out to the pedals

Smiling like a hero that just received his medal

It was just an old hand me down Ford

With three speed on the column and a dent in the door

A young boy, two hands on the wheel

I can't replace the way it made me feel

And I would press that clutch, and I'd keep it right

He'd say, "A little slower son, you're doing just fine"

Just a dirt road with trash on each side

But I was Mario Andretti

When daddy let me drive

I'm grown up now, three daughters of my own

I let 'em drive my old Jeep 'cross the pasture at our home

Maybe one day they'll reach back in their file

And pull out that old memory and think of me and smile and say

It was just an old worn out Jeep

Rusty old floor boards, hot on my feet

A young girl, two hands on the wheel

I can't replace the way it made me feel

And he'd say, "Turn it left and steer it right

Straighten up, girl, now you're doing just fine"

Just a little valley by the river where we'd ride

But I was high on a mountain

When daddy let me drive

When daddy let me drive

Oh, he let me drive

It's just an old plywood boat

With a '75 Johnson with electric choke