My old man was young once
Or so the photo album claims
Flip the page the baby jumps
Some twenty years and change

From the cradle to the naval base
A newlywed recruit
Through the boot camp of a family man
In a loose civilian suit

But it was anchors aweigh now
Singing “Courage, service true”
All them anchors will weigh you down
If you ain’t fit for blue

What did I know about it then?
What do I know now?
I have known the kind of man
It takes to keep the vow
To keep the vow

I’d say “Well I just thought…”
And he’d cut me off
Saying ‘That’s what you get for thinking’
I remember thinking that’s probably not the best lesson for kids
And although that was just something he said
When I see what I get with my thinking
I get to thinking there may have been some kinda genius
In the effortless way he just
Did
I learned your word is one thing,
You keep it if you give it out
But silence fans the fires a man requires to keep the vow

What did I know about it then?
What do I know now?
I have known the kind of man
It takes to keep the vow
To keep the vow

I could’ve curled up in one footprint,
One giant laugh, one giant hand
Until the sickness and the treatment
Shrunk him down to just a man

A shrinking man still tinkering with my old busted car
When his wedding ring must’ve slipped into the muddy yard
At least that’s what he figured when he noticed it was gone
I can still see him on his knees digging up that lawn

Now the flag is folded and the numbers are carved
Mississippi is glistening green
Another summer’s softly calling off the search for missing things

But I have found that something kept
To keep me company
On these nights when me and my old man
Go digging into dreams
What did I know about it then?
What do I know now?
I have known the kind of man
It takes to keep the vow

I can only hope as I propose to man the outpost now
I’ll be armed with memories of the man it takes to keep the vow
To keep the vow