I came home from college to see my old man He was sittin' on the porch swing, with a book in his hand He stared at my earring, and at my tattoo He smiled and shook his head and said It's good to see you He chose his words carefully cause it was hard for me to come And he knew I had ta temper and where I got it from I waited for the sermon, the one I knew so well But this time he wasn't preachin' About heaven or hell He said a real man knows the value of a woman A real man has got nothin to prove He's strenthened by love And the Lord up above So do the best that you can To be a real man Could it be that I saw just a glimpse of his soul Or maybe losin' Mama had just taken it's toll He gave me his Bible, stained with tears he had cried And I opened up the cover Where he wrote inside And it said A real man has got nothin to prove He's strenthened by love And the Lord up above So do the best that you can To be a real man Do the best that you can To be a real man