Stopping By

Driving to a baseball game on a Friday afternoon
Hotter than hell in Atlanta, Georgia
I guess it's been fifteen years since I came through here
Probably should have called to warn you

But I'm stopping by
I'm stopping by, Daddy

How did your life turn out?
Do you ever think about a teenage girl in Chattanooga?
You ever tell your folks the truth?
That might've been the last of you
Would've been a shame, we hardly knew ya

Now I'm stopping by
I'm stopping by, Daddy

I think the best of me is still standing in the doorway
Counting cars and counting days and counting years
I could say you made me go through life the hard way
But it might've been worse if you were here

Looking through a picture book
There's one I think my mama took
You couldn't have been much over twenty
Shirtless in your cutoff jeans
You hand a lollipop to me
I probably asked where you got the money

A picture on another page
I recognize my eyes have aged
I'd been alone for quite a while then
Trying to get a match to burn
Waiting on a latch to turn
I still have difficulty smiling

But I'm stopping by
I'm stopping by, Daddy

I think the best of me is still standing in the doorway
Whatever's left is headed south on 85
Passing families on vacation headed your way
They look so happy and alive
But I'm stopping by, Daddy