He drank to be happy But it only made him mean The kind of mean A child can’t forget We all had to learn At an early age to lie It was a secret That the family kept And all the love that could have been He just drank away ‘Til finally all I ever felt was sad And I’d give anything and everything If only I could say That I love you And I forgive you dad But I haven’t seen him In such a long, long time I hear he’s livin’ down in Dallas In a bottle of wine Mama tried to protect us But she couldn’t protect herself And when the trouble came I would run and hide From the darkness of the closet I could hear the screams Of her dying dreams As he made mama cry And all the love that could have been He just drank away ‘Til finally all I ever felt was sad And I’d give anything and everything If only I could say That I love you And I forgive you dad But I haven’t seen him In such a long, long time I hear he’s livin’ down in Dallas In a bottle of wine And I hope down on Mission Street Those Texas winds are warm That the good Lord’s stars will light his night And keep him safe from harm And I’d give anything and everything If only I could say That I love you And I forgive you dad Oh I miss you And what we never had But I haven’t seen him In such a long, long time I hear he’s livin’ down in Dallas In a bottle of wine