I got sent home from school one day with a shiner on my eye.
  Fightin' was against the rules and it didn't matter why.
  When dad got home I told that story just like I'd rehearsed.
  And then stood there on those tremblin' knees and waited for the worst.
    Chorus:
  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."
    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.
    Repeat Chorus:
    Last night I dreamed I died and stood outside those pearly gates.
  When suddenly I realized there must be some mistake.
  If they know half the things I've done, they'll never let me in.
  And then somewhere from the other side I heard these words again.
    Repeat Chorus: