Good Company
Good Company
Brent Ronen © 1996



Back when my Grandpa was bach’in’,
and just startin' out in life
He got himself this dog,
hadn't yet met his wife

He got him from a neighbor who lived down the road,
and he was just a lonely stray
And since that neighbor didn't want him,
he passed him grandpa's way

Now the dog sorta looked like a collie,
but his hair was long and white
And he went to work with Grandpa every day,
and slept on the porch at night

I guess you could say they were the best of friends,
He even taught that dog how to smile
And he had the perfect name,
‘Cause he named him pal

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Every night at the supper table,
when Grandpa'd sit down to eat
Ol' pal was right there with him,
You know he even had his own seat

And he ate whatever he was given,
and he never gave much of a fuss
He’d even eat an onion,
but Grandpa said he didn't like it much

But he sat right there at the table,
just like he was family
The way Grandpa put it,
he was good company

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Now Grandpa had a '29 chevrolet,
and it had running boards on the side
They were just wide enough for a dog to fit,
and that's where ol' Pal would ride

And he only fell off once,
he was tryin’ to catch a rabbit
That ol' hare got too close to the side of the road,
and Pal reached out too far to grab it

But he worked right alongside Grandpa,
pretty much the whole day thru
I’d loved to seen some of the things,
that ol' dog'd do

See he could catch a pig, and he'd hold it by the ear,
and every day he brought in the cattle
But he was always patient,
and he was always gentle

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Well grandpa married grandma,
and the seasons continued to change
Pal got to where he couldn't hardly move,
’cause he was in so much pain

Grandpa knew what he had to do,
Cause he couldn't let his dog suffer
And there’s few things in life i can think of,
that could be any tougher

He buried his dog out north of the barn,
where his grave was out of view
And when he said good-bye to Pal,
Grandpa said he shed a tear or two

'Cause ol' Pal was just about as good,
as a friend could be
The way Grandpa put it,
he was good company