DADDY FRANK
(Merle Haggard)
Merle Haggard - 1976


Daddy Frank played the guitar and the french harp,
Sister played the ringing tambourine.
Mamma couldn't hear our pretty music,
She read our lips and helped the family sing.
That little band was all a part of living,
And our only means of living at the time.
And it wasn't like no normal family combo,
'Cos Daddy Frank, the guitar man, was blind.

Frank and Mamma counted on each other.
Their one and only weakness made 'em strong.
Hey, Mamma did the driving for the family.
And Frank made a living with a song.
Home was just a camp along the highway:
A pick-up bed was where we bedded down.
Don't ever once remember going hungry,
I remember Mamma cooking on the ground.

Daddy Frank played the guitar and the french harp,
Sister played the ringing tambourine.
Mamma couldn't hear our pretty music,
She read our lips and helped the family sing.
That little band was all a part of living,
And our only means of living at the time.
And it wasn't like no normal family combo,
'Cos Daddy Frank, the guitar man, was blind.

Don't remember how they got acquainted,
I can't recall just how it came to be.
But there had to be some special help from someone,
And blessed be the one who let it be.
Fever caused my Mamma's loss of hearing.
Daddy Frank was born without his sight.
And Mamma needed someone she could lean on:
And I believe the guitar man was right.

Daddy Frank played the guitar and the french harp,
Sister played the ringing tambourine.
Mamma couldn't hear our pretty music,
She read our lips and helped the family sing.
That little band was all a part of living,
And our only means of living at the time.
And it wasn't like no normal family combo,
'Cos Daddy Frank, the guitar man, was blind.