Last year I turned forty and I didn't miss a beat
Now, here it is a year later and I'm down on my knees
Wondering if I've failed at what I'm supposed to be
And I'd sure like to know what he'd think of me
He was a colonel in the army in the second world war
Was a good American soldier, he knew what he was fighting for
He made it safely home, but he died way too soon
Before he had a chance to see what his kids and theirs would do
He looks straight at me while he's hanging on the wall
Always a man of few words, that's my grandpa
And even though I never knew him, I believe he is my friend
And I'd give my Gibson to shake his hand and learn how to live
Now fifty years have passed, he still looks the same
Sitting at his desk in that wooden picture frame
And sometimes late at night I look up at him
And ask a few questions that are on my mind again
He looks straight at me while he's hanging on the wall
Always a man of few words, that's my grandpa
And even though I never knew him, I know he is my friend
And I'd give my Gibson to shake his hand and learn how to live
And I'd give my Gibson to shake his hand and learn how to live