Blue Cap on the Dashboard

Found your cap on the dashboard

Sweat-stained brim

Bent on the side

Still got mud from the job site

You were cussin'

But you smiled

Ashtray full of your secrets

Old receipts

Folded in two

Doctor's words in a whisper

Everything changed in that room

Got these

Blue cap on the dashboard blues

Empty chair at the table

And that Sunday afternoon

When they covered you in flowers

And we all tried to stay strong

I lost my daddy

Now I'm just tryin' to carry you on

(tryin' to carry you on)

Your boots still by the back door

Laces knotted just like you

Mama talks like you're listenin'

Stares the way you used to do

I drive past your old factory

Windows cracked

Paint peeling down

Hear you say

"Son

Keep your chin up"

But I still pull over and drown

In these

Blue cap on the dashboard blues

Your old shirt on my shoulders

Smells like sawdust and perfume

Every laugh in this house

Has a missing piece in the tone

I lost my daddy

Now I'm just learnin' to stand here alone

(stand here alone)