But it can steal your name

My old man sat by the kitchen light With coffee going cold in his hands He said, son, there’s a kind of man Who keeps running from where he stands He wears his pride like Sunday boots And calls it freedom when he’s gone But every mile he leaves behind Is a heart that learned to move on He said, the road can teach you courage But it can steal your name And a lonely man with nothing left Will call his sorrow fame Don’t let the road raise your son Don’t let the night be his home Teach him love before the dust Turns his heart into stone Let him know that strong men cry Let him know when he is wrong Don’t let the road raise your son Or he’ll be lost before too long My mother kept a rosary Beside a picture on the wall Of a brother who chased easy money And never came back at all She said, mijo, listen closely A man ain’t measured by his fight He’s measured by the hands he holds When he comes home at night There’s music in the cantina There’s whiskey in the glass But not every smiling stranger Is a friend that’s built to last Don’t let the road raise your son Don’t let the night be his home Teach him love before the dust Turns his heart into stone Let him know that strong men cry Let him know when he is wrong Don’t let the road raise your son Or he’ll be lost before too long And if he falls, don’t shame him If he breaks, don’t turn away A boy becomes a hardened man When nobody asks him to stay So put your arms around him Before the world teaches him pain A child who learns he’s loved enough Won’t have to run from his own name Don’t let the road raise your son Don’t let the night be his home Teach him love before the dust Turns his heart into stone Let him know that real men pray Let him know they can belong Don’t let the road raise your son Bring him home where he is strong My old man closed the kitchen door And said, one day you’ll understand The hardest thing a boy can learn Is how to become a gentle man