drive (for daddy Gene)

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
He put on a shine, put on a motor
Built out of love, made for the water
Ran it for years, till the transom got rotten
A piece of my childhood that will never be forgotten
It was just an old plywood boat
With a 75 Johnson, with electric choke
A young boy two hands on the wheel
I cant replace the way it made me feel
And I would turn her sharp , make it whine
Hed say, 'You cant 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 short bed 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 wed haul off a load
Down a dirt strip where wed dump trash off of Thigpen Road
Id 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
A young boy two hands on the wheel
I cant replace the way it made me feel
And I would press that clutch and I would keep it right
And hed say, 'A little slower son youre doing just fine'
Just a dirt road with trash on each side, but I was Mario Andretti
When daddy let me drive
Im grown up now three daughters of my own
I let them drive my old Jeep across the pasture at our home
Maybe one day theyll 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
A young girl two hands on the wheel
I cant replace the way it made me feel
And hed say, 'Turn it left and steer it right
Straighten up girl, now youre doing just fine'
Just a little valley by the river where wed ride
But I was high on a mountain, when daddy let me drive
Daddy let me drive, oh he let me drive
Shes just an old plywood boat
With a 75 Johnson with electric choke