My baby boy Jamie, he’d fall asleep when the stroller wheels would shake
Preferred the grassy boulevard over smooth asphalt roads and lanes
Called him “Off Roads Jamie” before he could speak
Guess he was training for life before he was three weeks
It’s only been lately that I noticed
My son’s never been deterred by rough miles
Then I remember bedtime stories
Brushing down Bailey, our favourite horse
Lying there side by side in the dark
Looking up where the ceiling disappeared into stars
And I learned how to be a daddy
By not being one real well
Raised my voice too quick sometimes
Tried to carry more than I could tell
But that boy kept lovin’ me anyhow
Like grace don’t scare easy somehow
Yeah he grew up watching all my flaws
And still calls me Dad with honour in his voice
Not long after he moved away
He called me laughing one late day
Said “Dad, I just heard myself say
The exact same thing to my roommate…”
There was silence… then we both cracked up
‘Cause suddenly he knew what growing up was
That light came on the way dawn breaks slow
Not with fireworks… just “Ohhh…”
And late into his twenties still
He’d phone me up when he got ill
“Dad… I just barfed…” at two A.M.
Like somehow I could still help him then
And it took him not calling anymore
For me to finally understand
A son don’t stop needing his daddy
He just needs him different than before
We’ve roasted each other mercilessly
Called him on his… and him on mine
Half stand-up comedy, half family therapy
Laughing till we’d both cry
And I love how he kept soldiering on through vows gone bad
Took the hits life handed him and still stayed a dad
Every weekend pouring himself
Into two little hearts that hug right back
And he’s me all over again somehow
But gentler where I didn’t know how
Still finds ways to honour me
That make an old man feel seen
Yeah “Off Roads Jamie” still rides on through
The bumps and jumps life sometimes holds
And maybe that’s why those old roads worked
Some hearts learn steady even when on rough roads
Running Down Vimy 