My Papa's Waltz

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself

My papa's waltz, my papa's waltz
Up and down the halls till my papa falls

The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle

My papa's waltz, my papa's waltz
Up and down the halls till my papa falls

Oh, papa, I see you, I hear you, I cry
Through the dancing of the days and the clouds in your eyes
Oh, papa there's a gate where we can both swagger on
Well, sorry, I didn't make it but some days I'm not that strong

You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt

My papa's waltz, my papa's waltz
Up and down the halls till my papa falls

My papa's waltz, my papa's waltz
Up and down the halls till my papa falls

Up and down the halls till my papa falls
Up and down the halls till my papa falls
Up and down the halls till my papa falls