Dear the man I never knew Your daughter says I sound just like you And every time she hears me play Says it brings back a memory Of bluegrass standards and old church hymns Steel guitars and mountain mandolins You smiled and strummed your old six string And listened to her momma sing If I could only hear you play If you could only sing with me It'd probably make my nana cry If only just one time An eight year old kid in East Kentucky It's time to quit school to help the family Probably never thought your people would have more to show Than broken backs and lungs full of coal I own three guitars and a Marshall amp That you couldn't afford in a coal camp So you just whistled I'll fly away To get you through your work each day If you could only see the things You worked so hard to give me You'd probably be amazed At how much your coal sweat gave Now my cousin picks a guitar And your little boy beats a drum My brother, hell, he knows a little bit of everything Just look at what you've become If you could only see us play If you could only hear us sing I promise you would see A little Appalachian legacy