No One Will Ever Fill Your Shoes

You handed down to me your drafting set
Scripto pencil, compass and tee square
Your high school blue prints from 1954
With tracing paper I drew your lines once more
It wasn’t easy to copy you, I didn’t have a clue
How hard it’d be you step into your shoes

You rose at six and worked till six each day
Never called in sick, pulled twice your weight
I remember the smell of the mill on your clothes
You cut the stress with a pack of Marlboros
All the while you paid your dues, I never knew
What it was like to live in your shoes

I wanted to be a draftsman like you
Wear a tie and sit high on a stool
You could’ve said, “Son don’t be like me”
Instead you took me to see you in the factory
It changed my point of view, I stayed in school
You saved me from working in your shoes

Now you lay mother’s pills on a tray
You pay the bills and make sure she’s ok
You love to laugh and talk and you can’t stop
That’s how you exercise your heart
Everyday it’s so damn true
I get more and more like you
No one will ever fill your shoes
No one will ever fill your shoes