Every day my papa would work
To try to make ends meet
To see that we would eat
Keep those shoes upon my feet
And every night, my papa would take me
Tuck me in my bed
Kiss me on my head
After all my prayers were said
And there were years of laughter and of tears
But through it all
Together, we were strong
He was strong
The times were rough
And papa, he was tough
And mama stood beside him all along
Growing up with them was easy
Time just flew on by
The years began to fly
They aged and so did I
But I could tell that mama wasn't well
Papa knew and deep down, so did she
So did we
And when she died
Papa broke down and he cried
And all he could say was, "God, why her? Take me"
Every day, he sat there sleeping in a rocking chair
He never went upstairs because she wasn't there
Then one day, my papa said
"Son, I'm proud of how you've grown"
He said, "Make it on your own
And don't worry, I'm okay alone"
He said, "There are things you must do
And places you must see"
His eyes were sad as he
As he said goodbye to me
Every time I kiss my children
Papa's words ring true
He said, "Children live through you
And they grow, they leave you too"
I remember every word that papa used to say
I kiss my kids and I pray that they'll think of me
That way, some day