[Verse 1]
Dad ran a green Freightliner
through cane fields and rain
I followed in a white International
with a load of sod for Louisiana plains
Tail lights burning at dusk
mud on the chrome so clean
He'd say, "Keep her between the lines, son
and she'll keep you fed and free"
[Pre-Chorus]
We rolled past the bayou water
past the feed store sign
Two trucks, one little convoy
just a father and a boy in time
[Chorus]
Green Freightliner days
White International nights
Haulin' sod to Louisiana
under those southern skies
Green Freightliner days
That was our whole way
I still hear my daddy say
"Boy, drive it like you mean it
drive it like you mean it"
[Verse 2]
Then the doctor said cancer
and the whole world went slow
He hung up his logbook
in a room with the TV low
Said he was done for a while
said he needed to rest
But I saw him stare at the highway
like he'd lost the one thing he loved best
[Pre-Chorus]
Now the yard sits quiet at supper
just the porch light glow
He counts semis on the freeway
like a man who can't let go
[Chorus]
Green Freightliner days
White International nights
Haulin' sod to Louisiana
under those southern skies
Green Freightliner days
That was our whole way
I still hear my daddy say
"Boy, drive it like you mean it
drive it like you mean it"
[Bridge]
He sits in his lawn chair dreaming
of a cab and an open road
Of coffee in a paper cup
and a load he knows by heart
I take him for a Sunday ride
slow past the county line
He smiles when he sees that green paint shine
and for a minute, he's alive
[Final Chorus]
Green Freightliner days
White International nights
Haulin' sod to Louisiana
under those southern skies
Green Freightliner days
I pray they never fade
'Cause my daddy still belongs out there
with the wheels and the wind and the weight
Green Freightliner days
Yeah, that was our whole way
I still hear my daddy say
"Boy, drive it like you mean it
drive it like you mean it"