[Verse 1]
I got sent home from school one day with a shiner on my eye
Fighting was against the rules and it didn’t matter why
When Dad got home I told that story just like I’d rehearsed
Then stood there on those trembling knees
And waited for the worst

[Chrous]
And he said, “Let me tell you a secret, about a father’s love
A secret that my daddy said was just between us
He said daddies don’t just love their children
Every now and then
It’s a love without end, amen, it’s a love without end, amen”

[Verse 2]
When I became a father in the spring of ‘81
There was no doubt that stubborn boy
Was just like my father’s son
And when I thought my patience had been tested to the end
I took my daddy’s secret and I passed it on to him

[Chrous]
And I said, “Let me tell you a secret, about a father’s love
A secret that my daddy said was just between us
I said daddies don’t just love their children every now and then
It’s a love without end, amen, it’s a love without end, amen”
[Bridge]

Last night I dreamed I’d died and
Stood outside those pearly gates
When suddenly I realized there must be some mistake
If they know half the stuff I done they’ll never let me in
Then somewhere from the other side I heard these words again

[Chorus]
And they said, “Let me tell you a secret, about a father’s love
A secret that my daddy said was just between us
You see, daddies don’t just love their children
Every now and then
It’s a love without end, amen, it’s a love without end, amen"