He said, "Sit down, son. We've gotta talk."

I said, "It's my life. I'm gonna do what I want

I'm not gonna crawl, I'm gonna walk

Walk right out that door."

He said, "I used to be a lot like you

There's nothing you've done that I didn't do."

I left and said, "Dad, I'm bulletproof

We've been through this before."

I couldn't believe it

There was a tear in my old man's eye

When I was leaving

He tried to say goodbye

He said, "Stand tall when you stumble

Stay proud when you're humbled

The lessons you learn

Won't be the ones that you plan

And every step up that mountain

Will be more than worth counting

And when you walk through the valley

May you walk like a man."

And now I've seen a couple miles on a gravel road

Been taught a couple things that I didn't know

And, yeah, I've even got a kid of my own

Starting to sound a lot like me

I learned a little thing called "sacrifice"

Giving up on dreams, lost a couple fights

All anybody wants is a better life

And something to believe

Stand tall when you stumble

Stay proud when you're humbled

All the lessons you learn

Won't be the ones that you plan

Every step up that mountain

Will be more that worth counting

When you walk through the valley

May you walk like a man

I couldn't believe it

When the tears came to my eyes

It isn't easy

Standing on the other side

I said, "Sit down, son. We gotta talk

Hey. It's your life. You're gonna do what you want

I won't say 'crawl before you walk',"

'Cause I heard my old man in my mind saying

"Stand tall when you stumble

Stay proud when you're humbled

All the lessons you learn

Won't be the ones that you plan

And every step up that mountain

Will be more that worth counting

And when you walk through the valley

May you walk like a man

And when you go on without me

Walk, like a man."

Walk on