You Had To Be There

Admittedly, I’m not a big country music fan, but listening to Tim McGraw’s new song about absentee fatherhood really touched me – especially after learning that his biological/absent father was a major league baseball player.

Here are the lyrics:

“You Had To Be There” by Tim McGraw

He sat down, picked up the phone and said Boy, I’m your old man.
He touched the glass between the two, as if to shake his hand
The boy he didn’t budge, not even so much as a blink
The man said oh come on, better late than never, don’t ya think.

He said I read it in the paper, can’t believe you’re 21,
I can’t believe some son of mine could do the things I hear you’ve done.
He went on like some big hero, who flew in to save the day
And the boy said if your here, to steer me right, man, its too late

You had to be there, and I’m talkin from from day one.
Thats the only time a man should talk through glass to his new son
And you’d have to go back, and teach me how when i was nine
Cause my mama couldn’t throw a ball even if she had the time.
I should have been learning how to fish, instead of learning how to smoke.
I bet if you’d of whoopped my tail, i’d never thought it was a joke
He said sometimes the will for doing wrong is way too strong for any mama’s prayers
You had to be there.

The man said, boy I’m sorry that you hate me like you do
The boy said dry it up man, we ain’t making this about you.
Its about a teenage girl against the world who was left there high and dry
About a kid who might have stood a whole lot better shot at life, but
You Had To Be There
And I’m talking from day one,

Thats the only time a man should talk through glass to his new son
You’d have to go back and teach me how when I was nine
Cause my mama couldn’t throw a ball even if she had the time.
I should have been learning how to fish, instead of learning how to smoke
I bet if you’d of whooped my tail I’d never thought it was a joke
Sometimes the will for doing wrong is way too strong for any mama’s prayer
You had to be there.

Before the boy hung up the phone, he said they say me I’m out of time
And it hit the man, right there and then
My god son, so am I