There's a man at my house, he's so big and strong.
He goes to work each day, stays all day long.
He comes home each night, looking tired and beat.
He sits down at the dinner table, and has a bite to eat.
Never a frown, always a smile,
when he says to me, how's my child.
I've been studying hard, all day in school.
tryin' to understand the golden rule.
I think I'll color this man father.
I think I'll color him love.
I'm gonna color him father.
I think I'll color the man love, yes I will.
He says, education is the thing if you wanna compete,
because without it son, life ain't very sweet.
I love this man and I don't know why,
except I'll need his strength, till the day that I die.
My mother loves him and I can tell,
by the way she looks at him, when he holds my little sister Nell.
I heard her say just the other day,
that if it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't have found her way.
My real old man, he got killed in the war,
and she knows she and seven kids, couldn't of gotten very far.
She said she thought that she could never love again,
And then there he stood, with that big wide grin.
He married my mother and he took us in,
and now we belong to the man with that big wide grin.
I think I'll color this man father.
I think I'll color him love.
I'm gonna color him father.
I'm gonna color him love.
Footnote: In 1969, this song ranked #2 on the R&B charts and #7 on Billboard's Hot 100; the composer, Richard L. Spencer, won a Grammy Award for Best R&B song in 1970. Click on the record label for a link to YouTube and listen to this classic gem, the only one of its kind, which pays tribute to all of the stepfathers holdin' it down out there. And, always remember, as my pastor so eloquently pointed out in a sermon once... Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was actually raised by a man who played the role of a stepfather and his name was Joseph. So, never underestimate the importance of the part you play in God's divine plan. You are loved and appreciated much more than you know. May God continue to bless all of you!
