I got sent home from school one day with a shiner on my eye
Fighting was against the rules and it didnt matter why
When dad got home i told that story just like id rehearsed

Then stood there on those trembling knees and waited for the worst

And he said, let me tell you a secret, about a fathers love

A secret that my daddy said was just between us
He said daddies dont just love their children every now and then
Its a love without end, amen, its 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 fathers son

And when i thought my patience had been tested to the end
I took my daddys secret and i passed it on to him


And i said, let me tell you a secret, about a fathers love
A secret that my daddy said was just between us
I said daddies dont just love their children every now and then

Its a love without end, amen, its a love without end, amen

Last night i dreamed id died and stood outside those pearly gates

When suddenly i realized there must be some mistake
If they know half the stuff i done theyll never let me in
Then somewhere from the other side i heard these words again


And they said, let me tell you a secret, about a fathers love
A secret that my daddy said was just between us

You see daddies dont just love their children every now and then
Its a love without end, amen, its a love without end, amen