Staten island, April 12, 1934
The day your hero’s journey all began,
A stark railroad apartment down by the cold East River shore,
You didn’t get much time til you had to become a man.
The Navy taught you how to fix those fighter planes,
Worked your fingers to the bone, sent home your pay,
Enough to finally get your family off that welfare line,
You musta been so proud, Dad it makes me proud to say-

Though you may never hear the words I’m singin’
Above that whistle that ya always hear ringin’,
My love for you has always been deeper than the deep blue sea,
Served your country as a valiant defender,
They’d salute when they would call you Commander,
But you’ll always be the Captain of the ship to me…

Over TV dinners back when I was six years old,
Momma said you were headin’ off to Vietnam,
Didn’t know why you had to go out there to a place so far away,
All I knew is I didn’t want you gone.
So we waited and we marked the days off a calendar,
Hearing Cronkite every night on our TV,
As the body count got higher I’d just close my eyes and pray,
When you made it home, I knew God answered me-

Though you may never hear the words I’m singin’
Above that whistle that ya always hear ringin’,
My love for you has always been deeper than the deep blue sea,
Served your country as a valiant defender,
They’d salute when they would call you Commander,
But you’ll always be the Captain of the ship to me…

When you finished up your Navy time it was thirty years,
Never missed one day of work as I recall,
You taught us all about kindness and integrity and love,
You didn’t talk about it, you just showed us all,
When Momma got sick you took care of her, and you made her smile,
Being here without her wasn’t what you’d planned,
Until the day she went away, you stayed there holdin’ Momma’s hand,
You taught us boys what it means to be a man…

Though you may never hear the words I’m singin’
Above that whistle that ya always hear ringin’,
My love for you has always been deeper than the deep blue sea,
Served your country as a valiant defender,
They’d salute when they would call you Commander,
But you’ll always be the Captain of the ship to me…