He Doesn't Mean To Be So Hard
By Lou Heffernan © 2015  All rights reserved 

I was two hours late for curfew, 
the porch light still burns in my mind.
He had given me a dozen warnings 
but I was at a crossroads in my life.
In the mornin’ the silence was deafening. 
It's amazing what no words can say.
Momma tried to ease the tension,
when she said to me that day...

He doesn't mean to be so hard.
But he's been down the road you're on.
Seein' you start to stumble into holes in the road,
brings back bruises he thought were gone.
He doesn't mean, no he doesn't mean to be so hard.

Momma watched as the walls grew between us. 
For months Dad and I didn't speak.
I was a boy testing the boundaries. 
He was a Dad whose tight-ship sprung a leak.
Then one day I passed by the kitchen. 
I was stunned by what I overheard.
Dad was cryin', afraid I wouldn't make it.
Then Momma said some familiar words.

He doesn't mean to be so hard.
He's just tryin' to stand alone.
You can't stop him from stumblin' into holes in the road,
but you can love him when he limps home.
He doesn't mean, no he doesn't mean to be so hard.

And in that moment I realized, 
sometimes love comes in disguise.

And he doesn't mean to be so hard. 
He doesn't mean, no he doesn't mean, to be so hard.

Now I'm thankful that Momma's soft touch, 
went along with Daddy's hard line.