PAPA by Paul Anka

Everyday my papa would work
To try to make ends meet
To see that we would eat
Keep those shoes upon my feet

Every night my papa would take me
And tuck me in my bed
Kiss me on my head
After all my prayers were said

And there were years
Of sadness and of tears
Through it all
Together we were strong
We were strong
The times were rough
But, Papa, he was tough
And, Mama, she stood beside him all along

Growing up with them was easy
Time just flew on by
The years began to fly
They aged but so did I

I could tell Mama wasn’t well
And Papa knew and deep down so did she, so did she
When she died
Papa broke down and cried
And all he could say was: “God, why her? Take me!”

Everyday he sat there sleeping in his rocking chair
He never went upstairs
All cause she wasn’t there
Then one day my Papa said:
“Son, I’m proud of how you’ve grown
He said, “Go make it on your own. And don’t worry, I’ll be O.K. alone.”

He said, “There are things that you must do, places you must see”
His eyes were sad as he…
As he said goodbye to me

Every time I kiss my children
Papa’s words ring true
He said: “Your children live through you
They’ll grow, They’ll leave you, too”

I remember every word my papa used to say
I kiss my kids and I pray that
They’ll think, think of me that way someday