I remember the man  Rising early in the morning  Smelling of starch and aftershave  Sometimes I would shave beside him  With a plastic razor and a cardboard blade  And watch his car disppear  Into the morning gray.  I remember the man  Talking so long on the telephone  His voice hard and polished like a precious stone  In command of itself and the darkness  He was not afraid in my hearing  Though sometimes he would rage  Without reason  CHORUS:  There's a man I hardly remember  Who would hold me in his arms without flinching  And tell me it's all right  I put my hands out to my father  Standing strong in the water  When I could not swim  I held on to him  It was all right.  I remember the man  Shouting from the sidelines at my football games  He'd razz opposing players by their names  My mother would plead, Oh please calm down  And he did when the game was over  He was so proud  Of his son.  I remember the man  Laid off last December  That's not what they called it  Twenty years with the firm  Eased out in favor of a younger man  Fear tugged at his voice  But he had other plans.  CHORUS  I dreamed last night of my grandmother  She was tall and I a child  But death was hiding in her house  In the dark I saw her  A rotting shell  And I cried out  My father took my hand  And led me from that awful place.  Soon my parents will be old  They will count their dreams and weight them  One by one  Two lives long together, a daughter and a son  Many things accomplished, many left undone  Some left behind  For something better.  And once before he dies  I will hold him in my arms without flinching  And tell him it's all right  I put my hands out to my father  Standing strong in the water  When I could not swim  I held on to him  It was all right.