He Kept On A-Goin'
He Kept On A-Goin’
(Brenda Jean Searcy/Derby Duck Productions, ASCAP)
He was born in the twenties in a southern Alabama town
With seven other boys in the house, his mama was always runnin’ around
The second son died at the age of seventeen
And my daddy was just a boy, but he kept on a-goin’
He kept on a-goin
He kept on a-goin’
To the church every Sunday with his mother Mae
He was an eagle scout for Mr. D
He made a dollar a day at the grocery
His gridiron motto: “Don’t tread on me!”
They just handed that boy the ball
And he kept on a-goin’
Well, his Uncle Sam called when my daddy turned 18
“Young man, the world’s at war—go fight for me”
He caught a round of fire that brought him to his knees
And he nearly lost his life, but he kept on a-goin’
Yeah, he kept on a-goin’
He kept on a-goin’
His buddy said, “Johnny boy, war is hell”
And Johnny didn’t disagree
He did a year in the infirmary
Then Uncle Sam said “Go to university”
And Daddy said, “Sounds good to me”
And he kept on a-goin’
Johnny got himself a job a-way down in Louisiana
That’s where he met a beautiful girl—took her to Alabama
Along came my sister, then along came my brother, too
And then they thought that they were through, but they kept on a-goin’ (Thank God!)
They kept on a-goin’
Yeah, they kept on a-goin’
All the way to Texas where they raised us kids
‘Til the boss said “You’ve got to go
To the Midwest, up in Ohio”
And Mama said “Sure looks northeast, you know?!”
And Daddy really didn’t want to go
But he kept on a-goin’
The kids grew up and life wasn’t quite the same
In the cold, cold North that’s where the cancer came
And slowly, sadly took my mom away
It was the heartbreak of his life...
But he kept on a-goin’
Yeah, he kept on a-goin’
Now he golfs with his buddies and he drives down South
To see his friends from grammar school
He’s got two woman friends to keep him company
If Mama was here she’d say “Mercy, me!
He ain’t never gonna get lonely
He just keeps on a-goin’”
And that's the legacy he gave to me, it’s to keep on a-goin’