The Vow

C F Am F

[Verse 1]
Am
My old man was young once
          F
Or so the photo album claims
C
 Flip the page the baby jumps
     G
Some twenty years and change

[Verse 2]
         Am
From the cradle to the naval base
  F
A newlywed recruit
            C
Through the boot camp of a family man
     G
In a loose civilian suit

[Bridge]
           F
But it was anchors aweigh now

Singing "Courage, service true"
         Am           F
All them anchors will weigh you down
   C                 G
If you ain't fit for blue

[Chorus]
     F
What did I know about it then?
C              G
What do I know now?
F
I have known the kind of man
   G                 Am
It takes to keep the vow
            F
To keep the vow

C F Am F

[Verse 3]
              Am
I'd say "Well I just thought…"

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And he'd cut me off
        F
Saying ‘That's what you get for thinking'
C                                   G
I remember thinking that's probably not the best lesson for a kid

[Verse 4]
             Am
And although that was just something he said
       F
When I see what I get with my thinking
         C
I get to thinking he may have been some kinda genius
       G
In the effortless way he just did

[Bridge]
  F
I learned your word is one thing,

You keep it if you give it out
    Am               F
But silence fans the fires a man
  C                      G
Requires to keep the vow

[Chorus]
     F
What did I know about it then?
C              G
What do I know now?
F
I have known the kind of man
   G                 Am
It takes to keep the vow
            F
To keep the vow

[Instrumental]
C F Am F

[Middle 8]
           Gm
I could've curled up in one footprint,
          F
One giant laugh, one giant hand
          C
Until the sickness and the treatment
           G
Shrunk him down to just a man

  F
A shrinking man still tinkering with my old busted car
         C                              G
When his wedding ring must've slipped into the muddy yard
   F
At least that's what he figured when he noticed it was gone
      Am            F            C               G
I can still see him on his knees digging up that lawn

[Verse 5]
Am
Now the flag is folded and the numbers are carved,
     F
Mississippi is glistening green
        C
Another summer's softly calling off
    G                         G7
The search for missing things

[Bridge]
    F
But I have found that something kept

To keep me company
         Am                 F
On these nights when me and my old man
   C            G
Go digging into dreams

[Chorus]
      F
What did I know about it then?
C              G
What do I know now?
F
I have known the kind of man
   G                 Am
It takes to keep the vow

      F
I can only hope as I propose
   C               G
To man the outpost now
        F                                 G                 Am
I'll be armed with memories of the man it takes to keep the vow
            F
To keep the vow