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I Never Seen Papa Cry — Dirt Road Gospel Music
FamilyGriefFeeling UnseenSorrow
A tender country grief ballad about a stoic grandfather mourning the wife who shared sixty years of his life, and a family learning that his tears tell the truth about love. Seven days of making room for grief, receiving God’s comfort, honoring covenant love, and holding fast to resurrection hope.
"Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?"
A song for the road you're on.
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I Never Seen Papa Cry Dirt Road Gospel Music DirtRoadGospelMusic.com [Intro — solo guitar] [Verse 1] I never seen Papa cry Not once in all my life He fixed things, carried boxes Said, "That's just part of life" But this morning by the sink He was standing there so still Two cups sitting by the coffee Like one was waiting still He was staring out the window Not at the morning sky And when he wiped his face real quick That's the first time in my life I ever seen Papa cry [Chorus] I never seen Papa cry Till the day she slipped away Sixty years of "me and you" Gone in a single day Married when they both were eighteen Grew old side by side Now he's holding half a lifetime With nothing on the other side I never seen Papa cry But I see him now [Verse 2] There's pictures on the hallway wall From kids to wrinkled hands Every frame a little story Of the life they built and planned Her Bible's on the table Open where she left that page Her sweater on the back of that chair Like it's waiting on her name He still leaves the porch light burning Like she might come home tonight And when he whispers, "Baby girl…" Standing in that doorway light I never seen Papa cry But I hear it in the night [Chorus] I never seen Papa cry Till the day her heart went still Sixty years of Sunday mornings Coffee on the window sill From eighteen to almost eighty Every laugh and every fight Now he's talking to an empty room Turning off a second light I never seen Papa cry But I see him now [Bridge — almost spoken] He always said, "Love's a promise, You don't quit when it gets hard." He never planned on standing here Alone in this backyard Sixty years of being somebody's Hand to hold and place to fall Now he's just a man in silence Trying not to lose it all [Final Chorus — fragile] I never seen Papa cry But I sit here by his side If the strongest man I know can break Then breaking's nothing to hide She's in every crooked picture Every laugh that used to ring And when the tears fall from his eyes I see what true love really means I never seen Papa cry But I see him now Yeah, I see him now