G                                          C          G  
I got sent home from school one day with a shiner on my eye 
                                              C            D  
Cause fighting was against the rules and it didn't matter why 
       C                D                 G               C  
When dad got home I told that story just like I'd rehearsed 
   G                                      D              G  
Then stood there almost trembling and waited for the worst 
 
Refrain:
                 G                          C               G  
He (I, they) said let me tell you a secret about a father's love 
                                  C            D  
 A  secret that my daddy said was just between us 
          C                    D               G            C  
You see daddy's don't just love their children every now and then 
         G              D       G                   D      G  
It's a love without end, amen  It's a love without end, amen 
 
When I became a father in the spring of '81 
There was no doubt that stubborn boy was just like my father's son 
And when I thought my patience had been tested to the end 
I took my daddy's secret and I passed it on to him 
 
Last night I dreamed I died and stood outside those pearly gates 
When suddenly I realized there must be some mistake 
If they knew half the things I've done they'll never let me in 
Then a somewhere from the other side and I heard these words again