He was standin' in the rubble
Of an old farmhouse outside Birmingham
When some on-the-scene reporter
Stuck a camera in the face of that old man

He said, "Tell the folks, please mister, what are you gonna do
Now that this twister has taken all that's dear to you"
The old man just smiled and said, "Boy, let me tell you somethin'
This ain't nothin'"

He said, "I lost my daddy when I was eight years old
That cave-in at the Kincaid Mine left a big ol' hole
And I lost my baby brother, my best friend, and my left hand
In a no-win situation in a place called Vietnam"

"And last year, I watched my lovin' wife
Of fifty years waste away and die
And I held her hand 'til her heart of gold stopped pumpin'
So, this ain't nothin'"

He said, "I learned at an early age
There's things that matter, and there's things that don't
So if you're waitin' here for me to cry
I hate to disappoint you boy, but I won't"

Then he reached down in the rubble and picked up a photograph
Wiped the dirt off of it with the hand that he still had
He put it to his lips and he said, "Man she was somethin'
But, this ain't nothin'"
He said, "I lost my daddy when I was eight years old
That cave-in at the Kincaid Mine left a big ol' hole
And I lost my baby brother, my best friend, and my left hand
In a no-win situation in a place called Vietnam"

"And last year, I watched my lovin' wife
Of fifty years waste away and die
We were holdin' hands when her heart of gold stopped pumpin'
So, this ain't nothin'"

He said, "This ain't nothin' time won't erase
And this ain't nothin' money can't replace"

He said, "You sit and watch your lovin' wife
Of fifty years fightin' for her life
Then you hold her hand 'til her heart of gold stops pumpin'
Yeah, boy that's somethin'"

"So, this ain't nothin'
No, this ain't nothin'"