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Grandpa

from Home by Aaron Smith

/

lyrics

Marlboro ashes mingled with the sawdust on the cellar floor
As he told me how the Mets had lost again the night before
And he was mighty sure that someday he would meet the Lord
And all he asked of music was Johnny Cash and some chords

As a child, he found a pencil that brought his dreams to life
But he was called to war, and when he came home he took a wife
So he set out to work with a hammer under the hot American sun
Andover time, his skin grew red, and he lifted many tons

He lived his life by a simple code
And maybe that was all he needed to know
If you see a man’s in trouble, what you’ve got to do is lend a hand
And if you see that the Nazi’s are coming, what you’ve got to do is make a stand
Look for the beauty of nature wherever you may roam
But if you happen to walk through mud, don’t you ever bring it home

With quiet strength he tried to tell me all about this world
And one summer day, we upset a vicious hidden swarm
He shielded me from those buzzing awful flying things
And I ran away unharmed as he took a hundred stings

Dark was the coffee that he had to start his day
And if you dared offer him tea, you can be damn sure he’d push it away
And just the sight of chicken made his belly sore
Ever since the whole platoon was poisoned in the war

He lived his life by a simple code
And maybe that was all he needed to know
If you see a man’s in trouble, what you’ve got to do is lend a hand
And if you see that the Nazis are coming, what you’ve got to do is make a stand
Look for the beauty of nature wherever you may roam
But if you happen to walk through mud, don’t you ever bring it home

He had such pride and joy in his old Chevy truck
And he earned everything he had, with no reliance on luck
If he stumbled upon Bonanza, you can be sure he’d stay on the channel
For his taste in TV matched his ever-present flannel

From the time I was born, until the time when I was twelve
He taught me to always try to find the best in myself
And I avoided his funeral, just couldn’t face him that way
I wanted to remember him from all those better days

He lived his life by a simple code
And maybe that was all he needed to know
If you see a man’s in trouble, what you’ve got to do is lend a hand
And if you see that the Nazis are coming, what you’ve got to do is make a stand
Look for the beauty of nature wherever you may roam
But if you happen to walk through mud, don’t you ever bring it home

And I grew something like him, but different than he ever was
But I hope he’d be proud to see the work I’ve done
Perhaps we’d agree on what’s wrong, or maybe debate what was right
But I hope he’d be proud if he could see me tonight

He lived his life by a simple code
And maybe that was all he needed to know
If you see a man’s in trouble, what you’ve got to do is lend a hand
And if you see that the Nazis are coming, what you’ve got to do is make a stand
Look for the beauty of nature wherever you may roam
But if you happen to walk through mud, don’t you ever bring it home

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from Home, released January 22, 2023

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Aaron Smith Ringwood, New Jersey

At the age of 39, Aaron Smith took his old guitar out of the closet after 15 years, turned the skills he'd learned as a novelist toward lyric writing, learned to sing, and wrote and recorded his first EP, "Red Wolf Mist" over the course of the years 2016 to 2019. His second album, "Sand in the Hourglass" was released in August of 2021. ... more

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