Last year grandpa took me Down by parson's lake The Sun rose on the water Like a mirror that might break Picked a stone from the ground A big one, flat and round But before I could skip it Behind me grandpa made a sound He cleared his throat, then he grinned Said, that rock that you're holdin' Is a lot like life even though Right now you may not know it So throw it hard, don't hold back See how far you can go And watch the waves on the water As they spread and grow 'Cause it ain't the splash that lasts It's the ripples that you make Those tiny circles growin' larger Till they're reachin' every bank In life you never know What your waves are gonna shake Or what you'll end up changin' With the ripples that you make Thought about what grandpa said But didn't really understand At the time I didn't know Maybe that's the way he planned We've all got ups and downs And choices that we make Try to spread a little love Instead of spreading hate Last week grandpa passed And you should've seen his wake People came from all around Just to give their thanks There were some folks that we knew But most we met that day That's when I realized what he meant And I can still hear grandpa say It ain't the splash that lasts It's the ripples that you make Those tiny circles growin' larger Till they're reachin' every bank In life ya never know What your waves are gonna shake Or what you'll end up changin' With the ripples that you make