Father and Friend

My father and I had a simple and loving relationship. He was a remarkably good man, a person of devotion and integrity, a man who understood a hard day’s work.

You will always be his little boy no matter what. He protect me, try to ease my hurts, and make everything that can better. Wishing there were more he could do, even though he has taken on so much.

I remember when I was five years old, I always wait by the window for him to return from work. When his car stopped in the drive, my mother opened the door of our house and I rushed into his arms. He would swing me up in the air and carry me inside while I babbled about my day at kindergarten. The weekends were the best time, we played football in the backyard. Or my dad and I would watch the football games together on television.

When I was eleven years old, I discovered that it was not cool to like your father. He became “the old man”. It was more important to please my friends than my parents. My mid-teens arrived and I resisted my father’s attempt to communicate with me. I went to my friends for advice. I think deep down I still admired my father but it wasn’t cool to admit it, especially to my friends. I started to loosen up with my father and our common ground was sport. We discussed the selections each week of our favorite team.

My father’s love reached out to me and I felt relieved, I knew his love was unconditional and given no matter how I had treated him. My father was the fun part of my life. I loved him and wanted to be with him. I was pleased that I was sensitive enough to realize it and I knew I had to reach out and show him how much I loved him.



Father and Friend
(Sung by: Alain Clark and father)

Oh, papa sit down, and hear my song
Oh, and if you feel like it then please sing along
No nothing that I wanna say, I haven’t said before
But to use your words, you can never be too sure
See even though I don’t always show, I’m glad that you’re around
I Said, I’m glad that you’re around

Oh, son it’s so strange, to hear and see
That someone so different is a soul like me
You may have gone right, where I would have gone left
But son, that’s alright, I will always have your back
See even though I don’t always show, I’m proud that you’re my son.

Old days, and all of the new, wanting to be like you

Every time I look at you - oh yeah - I see myself.

I’m so proud of you.
You have made me what I am – ohhh - a better man.
I’m just so proud of you.

O dad, your views in life, tell me how they came to be.

Well see, I didn’t know my father like the way that you know me.
Son, life is just too short for us to never be in touch.

So, that’s why I Wanna tell you that I love you very much.
Oh, even though I don’t always show, you know

And I want you to know that

Every time I look at you I see myself.
And I’m so proud of you
You have made me what I am – tell me that.. a better man.

I’m just so proud of you.

I’m here, and I’ll be if I can - a father and a friend.

Oooh… every time I look at you.

Every time I look at you - what you see - I see myself.
And I’m so proud of you.
You have made me what I am.
A son and a friend.

I’m just so proud of you.

You know that one day too, I’ll be walking in your shoes.

And I know that you’ll do fine, ’cause you’re a son of mine.

Oh dear papa, tell me what you’ve learned, so that I don’t get my fingers burned.

Son, you’ll see that as you go, you’ll make mistakes of your own.
But that’s ok, man, see you live and you learn.
You live and you learn.
Oooh...