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