"You Had To Be There" lyrics

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, boy. Better late than never. Don't ya think?"

He said, "I read it in the paper. Can't believe you're 21
And I 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 dad should talk through glass to his new son
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

I should have been learning how to fish instead of learning 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 doing 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 making this about you
It's about a teenage girl against the world 'cause she was left there high and dry
It's 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 dad should talk through glass to his new son
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

I should have been learning how to fish instead of learning 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 doing 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 me I'm out of time."
And it hit the man right there and then
"My God, son. So am I."