You Had To Be There

He sat down, picked up the phone And said, "Boy, I'm your old man" He touched the glass between the two As if to shake his hand The boy, he didn't budge Not even so much as a blink The man said, "Oh, come on Better late than never, don't you think?" He said, "I read it in the paper Can't believe you're 21 Can't believe some son of mine Could do the things I hear you've done" He went on like some big hero Who flew in to save the day And the boy said, "If you're here To steer me right, man, it's too late" "You had to be there And I'm talkin' from day one That's the only time a man should talk Through glass to his new son" "And you'd have to go back And teach me how when I was nine 'Cause my mama couldn't throw a ball Even if she had the time" "And I should have been learnin' how to fish Instead of learnin' how to smoke I bet if you'd have whooped my tail I'd never thought it was a joke" He said, "Sometimes the will For doin' wrong is way too strong For any Mama's prayers You had to be there" The man said, "Boy, I'm sorry That you hate me like you do" The boy said, "Dry it up, man We ain't makin' this about you" "It's about a teenage girl against the world Who was left there high and dry About a kid who might have stood A whole lot better shot at life" "You had to be there And I'm talkin' from day one That's the only time a man should talk Through glass to his new son" "And you'd have to go back And teach me how when I was nine 'Cause my mama couldn't throw a ball Even if she had the time" "And I should have been learnin' how to fish Instead of learnin' how to smoke I bet if you'd have whooped my tail I'd never thought it was a joke" He said, "Sometimes the will For doin' wrong is way too strong For any Mama's prayers You had to be there" Before the boy hung up the phone He said, "They say I'm out of time" And it hit the man right there and then "My God, son, so am I"