Grandpa Was a Carpenter - John Prine

Grandpa wore his suit to dinner

Nearly every day

No particular reason

He just dressed that way

Brown necktie and a matching vest

And both his wingtip shoes

He built a closet on our back porch

And put a penny in a burned out fuse

Grandpa was a carpenter

He built houses stores and banks

Chain smoked Camel cigarettes

And hammered nails in planks

He was level on the level

And shaved even every door

And voted for Eisenhower

Cause Lincoln won the war

Well, he used to sing me «Blood on the Saddle»

And rock me on his knee

And let me listen to radio

Before we got TV

Well, he’d drive to church on Sunday

And take me with him too

Stained glass in every window

Hearing aids in every pew

Grandpa was a carpenter

He built houses stores and banks

Chain smoked Camel cigarettes

And hammered nails in planks

He was level on the level

And shaved even every door

And voted for Eisenhower

Cause Lincoln won the war

Now my grandma was a teacher

Went to school in Bowling Green

Traded in a milking cow

For a Singer sewing machine

She called her husband «Mister»

And walked real tall in pride

She used to buy me comic books

After grandpa died

Grandpa was a carpenter

He built houses stores and banks

Chain smoked Camel cigarettes

And hammered nails in planks

He was level on the level

And shaved even every door

And voted for Eisenhower

Cause Lincoln won the war