Drive (When Daddy let me...)

Was painted red, the stripe was white, It was 18 feet from the bow to the stern light. Second hand from a dealer in Atlanta, I rode up with Daddy when he went there to get her. Put on a shine, put on the motor, Built out of love, made for the water. Ran her for years 'til the transom got rotten, A piece of my childhood that'll 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 can't replace the way it made me feel, And I would turn her sharp and I'd, make it whine, E 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 short bed Ford, My uncle bought it new in '64. Daddy got it ridin', 'cause the engine was smokin', Couple of burnt valves and he had it goin'. He'd let me drive her and 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, Smilin' like a hero that just received his medal. It was, Just an old hand-me down Ford, E With 3-speed on the column, and a dent in the door. A young boy, two hands on the wheel, I can't replace the way it made me feel, And I would press that clutch, and I'd keep it right, And he'd say, a little slower son, you're doin' just fine. Just a dirt road with trash on each side, But I was Mario Andretti when daddy let me drive. INSTRUMENTAL I'm grown up now, three daughters of my own. I let 'em drive my old jeep 'cross 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, With rusty old floorboards that were hot on my feet. A 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 now, you're doin' just fine. Abm Db 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. She's just an old plywood boat, With a '75 Johnson, with electric choke....