Up that hill,
is an old man,
and that cranky old man,
lives there still.

Lord knows, he's as old as dust,
but his ticker's still tickin,
thank God it don't rust.

Well that ol' man,
was my ol' man,
as old a man can be.
That old man was my old man,
he's my old man to me.

That ol' man,
taught me more than my ol' man could,
but then again, he was never there,
even when he should.
He was gone with the wind,
never to be heard again,
he left ma and me, and the house,
before I ever turned sev-en.

So that ol' man, up on that hill,
treated me better, than any other father will.
Straight off the bat,
he offered me a job,
I worked hard and long,
to earn just a corn on the cob.

But then I came back for more,
hoping for better pay,
but the next thing I knew,
I was fixing his door.

Again I tried,
and with more work
he had already supplied.
Because I was getting paid,
with the knowledge that he readily provide.

He taught me
how to fix up a house,
he taught me how
to bait and trap the pesky little mouse.
Taught me the meanin' of words,
he taught me to not ignore
the small songs of the birds.
That the wind blew this way,
meant for a storm within the day,
that if the sun rose up red,
he taught me something sailors said.

He taught me skills
I that I used around at home,
it kept me out of trouble,
his land big enough to roam.

He was grouchy a lot,
liked to curse and spit too,
but not once did he raise his voice,
and my liking to this man, always grew.

My kid siblings and I
would visit ever chance we got,
it helped us so much,
for a moment, our pains...we forgot.
He tried to keep the grouch on,
every night and day,
but when he saw us kids run up the street,
I saw the grouch in his eyes, all gone.

Sure he didn't like to show it,
his feelings on his sleeve,
but for some strange reason,
I just bet that when he saw us,
all he could be is relieved.

That sweet ol' man,
living up that dusty ol' hill,
gave us hope for our future,
better than any story book father ever will.

He raised us right,
right from the start,
he might've been a Devil's Dog at some point,
lots of bark, but an even better heart.

God Bless that ol' man,
as he lies on his death bed,
I always remember those clear commanding words,
the first words I remember he said.

"Don't Sir me, bullsh!t! I ain't gonna give you a dime's worth o' work! I'm gonna teach ya how to work so you can do it right! *******."

Thanks ol' man, for all the memories,
you promised me that house one day,
I'll turn that dusty hill, to an orchard full of trees!
And I swear to you ol' man,
I'll fix her right back up
make her nice and pretty,
make it as it once was, in its former glory.

For you ol' man,
I'd do anything you if you only ask,
cause you taught me a lotta things,
from livin, lovin, learnin, and all,
and especially 'bout the people, and the people behind the mask.

Thanks Ol' man.
Up on that hill,
the greatest man to live,
and forever
Will.