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
We put on a shine
Put on a motor
Built out of love
Made for the water
Ran her for years
Till the transom got rotten
A piece of my childhood
That will never be forgotten
It was just on 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 would make it whine
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 shortbed 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 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
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 can't replace the way it mode me feel
And I would press that clutch
And I would keep it right
And he'd say
"A little slower son
You're doing just fine"
Just a dirt road with trash on each side
But I was Mario Andretti
When daddy let me drive
I'm grown up now
Three daughters of my own
I let them drive my old Jeep
Across 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
Rusty old floorboard
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
You're doing just fine"
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
Daddy let me drive
She's just an old plywood boat
With a '75 Johnson
With electric choke