As my father lay dying I was holding his hand He said "Son, there's one thing you must understand All my life I've been an Almost man Don't make the same mistake as me
'Cause I never got to drive a real fast car Or get crazy drunk in a downtown bar I never even got to go that far And there was so much I wanted to see"
When he made it back from that terrible war Things were going to be different than they'd been before 'Cause he had a family and a lot to live for He got a job and he settled down
He worked real hard to keep the family tight Everyday he did what he thought was right But he never got ahead and try as he might He was always just breaking even
And before he knew it, it was all too late His time had passed and time can't wait There are some things in life you just can't beat It's fight you're never going to win
When he died his ashes were sent through the post And I thought about what he would have wanted the most So I went out and bought that real fast car and I damned the cost I strapped him in and we hit the highway
Hey old man now you know how it feels Isn't she just the greatest set of wheels She's a bright red beauty of cool polished steel And we're going to turn some heads today
We drove like the wind down to London town And we got crazy drunk and started falling down And when a new day broke and we came around I took him down to look at the sea
We stood on Brighton beach, where it all began Where my father's son became a man And I said to him, "Now you can understand What you have meant to me
'Cause I got you that ride in a real fast car And we got crazy drunk in a downtown bar And we made it together and we've come this far And I did it all for you"
So I'll take that ride when it's given for free And I'll be the man he always wanted to be And if, somewhere, he's looking down on me I know he'll smile and he'll say "You did it, Al"
Let's take that drive in a real fast car Let's get crazy drunk in every downtown bar Let's get on the road and follow that golden star And take it all the way to the end Let's get on the road and follow that golden star And take it all the way to the end
[00:25.63]As my father lay dying I was holding his hand [00:34.13]He said "Son, there's one thing you must understand [00:42.13]All my life I've been an Almost man [00:49.86]Don't make the same mistake as me [00:52.63] [00:54.63]'Cause I never got to drive a real fast car [01:00.56]Or get crazy drunk in a downtown bar [01:06.81]I never even got to go that far [01:13.31]And there was so much I wanted to see" [01:18.44] [01:22.37]When he made it back from that terrible war [01:29.06]Things were going to be different than they'd been before [01:35.00]'Cause he had a family and a lot to live for [01:40.93]He got a job and he settled down [01:45.37] [01:47.35]He worked real hard to keep the family tight [01:53.43]Everyday he did what he thought was right [01:59.74]But he never got ahead and try as he might [02:05.87]He was always just breaking even [02:10.62] [02:15.24]And before he knew it, it was all too late [02:21.24]His time had passed and time can't wait [02:27.23]There are some things in life you just can't beat [02:33.61]It's fight you're never going to win [02:37.80] [02:39.86]When he died his ashes were sent through the post [02:45.86]And I thought about what he would have wanted the most [02:52.05]So I went out and bought that real fast car and I damned the cost [02:57.83]I strapped him in and we hit the highway [03:02.67] [03:08.05]Hey old man now you know how it feels [03:14.42]Isn't she just the greatest set of wheels [03:19.67]She's a bright red beauty of cool polished steel [03:25.74]And we're going to turn some heads today [03:30.17] [03:32.11]We drove like the wind down to London town [03:38.11]And we got crazy drunk and started falling down [03:44.48]And when a new day broke and we came around [03:50.04]I took him down to look at the sea [03:54.98] [03:59.89]We stood on Brighton beach, where it all began [04:05.81]Where my father's son became a man [04:12.07]And I said to him, "Now you can understand [04:18.82]What you have meant to me [04:22.64] [04:24.39]'Cause I got you that ride in a real fast car [04:30.39]And we got crazy drunk in a downtown bar [04:36.76]And we made it together and we've come this far [04:42.95]And I did it all for you" [04:47.39] [04:52.07]So I'll take that ride when it's given for free [05:00.95]And I'll be the man he always wanted to be [05:08.76]And if, somewhere, he's looking down on me [05:14.88]I know he'll smile and he'll say "You did it, Al" [05:19.32] [05:21.44]Let's take that drive in a real fast car [05:27.38]Let's get crazy drunk in every downtown bar [05:33.69]Let's get on the road and follow that golden star [05:39.43]And take it all the way to the end [05:45.94]Let's get on the road and follow that golden star [05:52.19]And take it all the way to the end [05:59.57]
