The Roof Above Our Heads

Lyrics

[Verse 1] He came home with steel dust on his coat And a laugh that could loosen any knot Built a little business from a battered van Turned hard days into a working plan Five young faces waiting by the door He gave us what he never had before A fuller plate, a safer place to land And always one more joke than we could stand [Chorus] Dad, you were the roof above our heads The steady hand beside our beds You made a life from sweat and borrowed time And somehow made the ordinary shine You loved Mum with a patient, faithful heart Loved all five of us from the very start My dad, our hero, brave and true The best of what we are came back from you [Verse 2] Saturday, the racing pages spread Names and numbers dancing in your head You’d back a horse with hopeful eyes Then tell us why the long shot had surprised Your stories grew each time they left your mouth You’d swear the winner had been figured out And when the bet went running down the track You’d laugh and say, “Next week, I’ll win it back” [Chorus] Dad, you were the roof above our heads The steady hand beside our beds You made a life from sweat and borrowed time And somehow made the ordinary shine You loved Mum with a patient, faithful heart Loved all five of us from the very start My dad, our hero, brave and true The best of what we are came back from you [Bridge] Cancer came like weather we could not outrun Took your strength but never who you were Even then, you found a way to make us smile Held our hands and stayed a little while Mum was there, and we were gathered close Five voices saying what we needed most No finish line could take the love you made No dark night could make that light afraid [Final Chorus] Dad, you are the roof above our heads The steady hand beside our beds Every lesson lives in what we do Every road we take still leads to you You loved Mum with a patient, faithful heart Loved all five of us from the very start My dad, our hero, brave and true The best of what we are came back from you [Outro] So sleep now, Dad, your working day is through We’ll carry all the good you carried us through And when we laugh the way you always did You’ll be there in every one of your kids