father of mine
tell me where have you been
you know i just closed my eyes
my whole world disappeared
father of mine
take me back to the day
when i was still your golden boy
back before you went away

i remember blue skies
walking the block
i loved it when you held me high
i loved to hear you talk
you would take me to the movie
you would take me to the beach
you would take me to a place inside
that is so hard to reach

father of mine
tell me where did you go
you had the world inside your hand
but you did not seem to know
father of mine
tell me what do you see
when you look back at your wasted life
and you don't see me

i was ten years ole
doing all that i could
it wasn't easy for me
to be a scared white boy
in a black neighborhood
sometimes you would send me a birthday card
with a five dollar bill
i never understood you then
and i guess i never will

daddy gave me a name
my dad he gave me a name
then he walked away
daddy gave me a name
then he walked away
my dad he gave me a name

father of mine
tell me where have you been
i just closed my eyes
and the world disappeared
father of mine
tell me how do you sleep
with the children you abandoned
and the wife i saw you beat

i will never be safe
i will never be sane
i will always be weird inside
i will always be lame
now i'm a grown man
with a child of my own
and i swear that i'm not going to let her know
all the pain i have known

then he walked away
daddy gave me a name
then he walked away
my dad he gave me a name
then he walked away
daddy gave me a name
then he walked away
my dad he gave me a name

then he walked away