This Christmas Eve I had a dream
My father was reaching out to me
He was standing near the fireplace
A younger man I could see his face
I could hear his voice and it felt so real
And we talked for hours there in my dream
My father was a quiet man
And sometimes hard to understand
In church when I was only three
So tall he'd stand there next to me
He held a hymnal opened wide
It was there his voice could ring a mountainside
We took a trip to Spartanburg
In his '57 Thunderbird
We walked into the music store
He knew exactly what he was looking for
He had an intuition about his son
Somehow knew the man he would become
And in his own quiet way
He handed me my first guitar that day
Years ago my brother passed away
And the angels spoke to me that day
When I walked into my father's house
He was standing reaching out
He gave me such a long embrace
Quiet tears falling from his face
I learned how strong a man could be
When death befalls a family
My father was a quiet man
And sometimes hard to understand
I look at him, I see myself
In a photograph up on the shelf
I watch my son now he's twenty one
A father someday he will become
And I hope one day he'll understand
How sometimes I can be a quiet man
My father was a quiet man
