Drive (For Daddy Gene) -- Alan Jackson

It was painted red the stripe was white It was eighteen feet from
the bow to the stern light Secondhand from a dealer in Atlanta
I rode up with daddy when he went there to get her
We put on a shine; put on a motor Built out of love, made for
the water  Ran her for years, 'til the transom got rotten
A piece of my childhood that will never be forgotten

It was just on old plywood boat With a '75 Johnson with electric
choke  young boy two hands on the wheel I can't replace the way it made me feel And I would turn her sharp And I would make her
whine He'd say, "you can't beat the way an old wood boat rides"
Just a little lake across the Alabama line
But I was king of the ocean When daddy let me drive

Just an old half ton shortbed ford My uncle bought new in '64
Daddy got it right 'cause the engine was smoking
A couple of burnt valves and he had it going
He let me drive her when we'd haul off a load
Down a dirt strip where we'd dump trash off of Thigpen Road
I'd sit up in the seat and stretch my feet out to the pedals
Smiling like a hero that just received his medal

It was just an old hand-me-down Ford with a three-speed on the column and a dent in the door  young boy two hands on the wheel
I can't replace the way it mode me feel And I would press that clutch
And I would keep it right And he'd say, "a little slower son you're
doing just fine" Just a dirt rood with trash on each side
But I was Mario Andretti  When daddy let me drive

I'm grown up now three daughters of my own
I let them drive my old Jeep across the pasture at our home
Maybe one day they'll reach back in their file
And pull out that old memory And think of me and smile and say

It was just an old worn out Jeep Rusty old floorboard, hot on my
feet  young girl two hands on the wheel I can't replace the way it
made me feel and he'd say, "turn it left and steer it right,
Straighten up girl, you're doing just fine just a little valley by
the river where we'd ride But I was high on a mountain
When daddy let me drive  When daddy let me drive
Oh he let me drive  Daddy let me drive It's just an old plywood boat
With a '75 Johnson with electric choke

Jackson wrote this for his father Gene, hence the subtitle. The song talks about the good times Jackson had with his father as a child. (songfacts)

 
   
                

                

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