?Whatever you are, you're going to be   Whatever you are is all right with me   You're going to be what you want anyway?   These are the words I heard my father say      When I was a young girl and shy of men   He said, ?When you're ready, you'll know just when?   And when I was taken and thrown away   There wasn't a reason to face the day      And he said, ?Whatever you are, you're going to be   Whatever you are is all right with me   You're going to be what you want anyway?   These are the words I heard my father say      My father's soul is clear and easy   And though he's gone, he lives in my heart   When I go wrong I swear he sees me   And he smiles for a start and he says      ?Wherever you are, I'm here by your side   My life is a rope that won't come untied   Oh, I'm going to stand by you, right or wrong?   These are the words within my father's song      These are the words within my father's song