D                                        G            D 
I got sent home from school one day with a shiner on my eye 
                                             G             A 
Cause fighting was against the rules and it didn't matter why 
      G              A               D               G 
When dad got home I told that story just like I'd rehearsed 
  D                                    A              D 
Then stood there almost trembling and waited for the worst 
 
                   D                        G                D 
He (I, they) said let me tell you a secret about a father's love 
                                 G            A 
A secret that my daddy said was just between us 
         G                  A                   D             G 
You see daddy's don't just love their children every now and then 
        D            A     D                        A     D 
It's a love without end, amen  It's a love without end, amen 
 
                  D            G          D 
When I became a father in the spring of '81 
                                   G                         A 
There was no doubt that stubborn boy was just like my father's son 
           G              A               D           G 
And when I thought my patience had been tested to the end 
          D         A     D               A     D 
I took my daddy's secret and I passed it on to him 
 
                  D                        G                D 
He (I, they) said let me tell you a secret about a father's love 
                                 G            A 
A secret that my daddy said was just between us 
         G                  A                   D             G 
You see daddy's don't just love their children every now and then 
        D            A     D                        A     D 
It's a love without end, amen  It's a love without end, amen 
 
D                                        G            D 
Last night I dreamed I died and stood outside those pearly gates 
                                 G             A 
When suddenly I realized there must be some mistake 
             G              A               D               G 
If they knew half the things I've done they'll never let me in 
         D                                    A              D 
Then a somewhere from the other side and I heard these words again 
 
                  D                        G                D 
He (I, they) said let me tell you a secret about a father's love 
                                 G            A 
A secret that my daddy said was just between us 
         G                  A                   D             G 
You see daddy's don't just love their children every now and then 
        D            A     D                        A     D 
It's a love without end, amen  It's a love without end, amen