A Man List
Verse 1
Grandpa had a way of teaching
Without ever preaching much,
He’d just smile and say, “Come on, boys,”
When something looked too tough.
He said, “There’s a list you gotta check
Before you call yourself a man.
It ain’t written down nowhere,
But you’ll know it when you can.”
Pre-Chorus
“Some things you’ll be afraid of,
Some things you’ll get wrong.
But a man don’t wait for easy—
He learns to carry on.”
Chorus
You gotta check it off the man list,
One hard thing at a time.
Take a chance, get your hands dirty,
Walk that edge and cross that line.
When life says, ‘You can’t do it,’
You just look it in the eye and say, ‘I guess we’ll see.’
You don’t become a man by getting older,
You become one by who you choose to be.
Yeah, that’s the man list.
Verse 2
First it was a bicycle
And a scraped-up bloody knee.
Then he handed me a fishing pole
And said, “Come sit with me.”
He taught me how to bait a hook,
How to build a fire from a spark.
Said, “Son, you’ll learn a lot about yourself
When you’re standing in the dark.”
Pre-Chorus
“Sometimes you’ll get knocked down,
Sometimes you’ll lose your way.
But getting back up matters
More than what you say.”
Chorus
You gotta check it off the man list,
One hard thing at a time.
Take a chance, get your hands dirty,
Walk that edge and cross that line.
When life says, ‘You can’t do it,’
You just look it in the eye and say, ‘I guess we’ll see.’
You don’t become a man by getting older,
You become one by who you choose to be.
Yeah, that’s the man list.
Verse 3
Years rolled on, I got a truck,
Got it stuck out in the mud.
Learned to fix what I had broken,
Learned the value of hard work.
Then I met a girl worth keeping,
And Grandpa pulled me aside.
Said, “Now son, this one’s important—
You better get this one right.”
Bridge
“Love her when the years get harder,
Stand beside her when they do.
Keep your word when nobody’s watching,
Give more than you expect to get back from you.
And when you have a family,
You’ll understand what I’ve always known—
A man ain’t measured by the things he owns,
But by the people he brings home.”
Final Chorus
You gotta check it off the man list,
One hard thing at a time.
Take a chance, get your hands dirty,
Walk that edge and cross that line.
When life says, ‘You can’t do it,’
You just look it in the eye and say, ‘I guess we’ll see.’
You don’t become a man by getting older,
You become one by who you choose to be.
Tag
Now I’ve got two boys beside me,
And I see that look in their eyes.
So I pull them close and tell ’em,
“Boys, it’s about time you realize…”
There’s a man list.
And it ain’t written down.
You check it off with every choice you make…
Every time you stand your ground.
