I got sent home from school one day with a shiner on my eye
Fightin' was against the rules and it didn't matter why
When dad got home I told that story just like I'd rehearsed
Then stood there on those tremblin' knees and waited for the worst

And he said, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love"
A secret that my daddy said was just between us
He said, "Daddies don't just love their children every now and then
It's a love without end, Amen, it's a love without end, Amen"

When I became a father in the spring of '81
There was no doubt that stubborn boy was just like my father's son
And when I thought my patience had been tested to the end
I took my daddy's secret and I passed it on to him

I said, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love"
A secret that my daddy said was just between us
I said, "Daddies don't just love their children every now and then
It's a love without end, Amen, it's a love without end, Amen"

Last night I dreamed I died and stood outside those pearly gates
When suddenly I realized there must be some mistake
If they know half the things I've done, they'll never let me in
And then somewhere from the other side I heard these words again

And they said, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love"
A secret that my daddy said was just between us
You see daddies don't just love their children every now and then
It's a love without end, Amen, it's a love without end, Amen