A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How)

For the longest time, I 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 that heart-to-heart
 He had too much to do
 He checked the air in my tires
 The belts and all the spark plug wires
 Said, "When the hell's the last time
 You had this oil changed?"
 And as I pulled out the drive
 He said, "Be sure and 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
 120, 000 miles
 Six years down the road
 A brand new life and a brand new wife
 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 sink
 And these old wires ain't up to code
 And that circuit box is gonna overload
 And I didn't 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
 And I knew he'd 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
 Said, "When the hell's the last time
 You had this oil changed?"
 And as I pulled out the drive
 He said, "Be sure and 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