"Grandpa Was a Carpenter" (J. Prine)
Oh,
Grandpa wore his suit to dinner
Nearly every day
No particular reason
He just dressed that way
Brown necktie and a matching vest
Both his wing-tipped shoes
He built a closet on our back porch
He put a penny in a burned out fuse
Grandpa
was a carpenter
He built houses, stores
and banks
Chain smoked Camel
cigarettes
And hammered nails in
planks
He would level on the
level
Shaved even every door
He voted for Eisenhower
‘Cause Lincoln won the
War
Well,
he used to sing me “Blood on the Saddle”
And rock me on his knee
And let me listen to the
radio
Before we got TV
Well, he’d drive to
church on Sunday
And he’d take me with
him too
Stained glass in every
window
A hearing aid in every
pew
Grandpa
was a carpenter
He built houses, stores
and banks
Chain smoked Camel
cigarettes
And hammered nails in
planks
He would level on the
level
Shaved even every door
He voted for Eisenhower
‘Cause Lincoln won the
War
Well, my grandma was a teacher
She went to school in Bowling Green
Traded in her milking cow
For a Singer sewing machine
Well, she called her husband Mister
And she walked real tall in pride
She used to buy me comic
books
After Grandpa died
Grandpa
was a carpenter
He built houses, stores
and banks
Chain smoked Camel
cigarettes
And hammered nails in
planks
He would level on the
level
Shaved even every door
And voted for Eisenhower
‘Cause Lincoln won the
War
Grandpa
was a carpenter
He built houses, stores
and banks
Chain smoked Camel
cigarettes
And hammered nails in
planks
He would level on the
level
Shaved even every door
And voted for Eisenhower
‘Cause Lincoln won the
War
Voted for Eisenhower
‘Cause Lincoln won the
War