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, 'til 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 her 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 honds on the wheel
I canกฆt 
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 rood 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

It's just an old plywood boat
With a '75 Johnson with 
electric choke