For the longest time guess I thought he didn't give a damn
Hard to read, hard to please, yeah that was my old man
On the day I left for college, it was nothing new
We never had the heart to heart, there was too much to do

He checked the air in my tires,
The belts and all the spark plug wires
He said, when in hell's the last time you had this oil changed?
And as I pulled out the drive,
He said be sure to call your mom sometime
And I didn't hear it then, but I hear it now,
He was saying I love you the only way he knew how.

A 120,000 miles, six years down the road
A brand new life and a brand new wife
And we'd just bought our first home
When he finally came to visit, I thought he'd be so proud
He never said he liked the place, he just got his tool belt out

And put new locks on the doors,
Went back and forth to the hardware store
Said come and hold this flashlight,
As he crawled beneath the sand
These old wires aint up to code
And that old circuit box is going to overload
And I didnt hear it then, but I hear it now
He was saying I love you the only way he knew how

Last Sunday we all gathered for his 65th birthday,
I knew hed stiffen up but I hugged him anyway,
When it was finally time to say goodbye I knew what was next,
Just like he always does, right before we left

He checked the air in my tires,
The belts and all the spark plug wires
He said, when in hell's the last time you had this oil changed?
And as I pulled out the drive,
He said be sure to call your mom sometime
And I didn't hear it then, but I hear it now,
He was saying I love you,
He was saying I love you the only way he knew how.