Momma said don't you cry
It's time to be a man
As I watched him close the door
Different from before
Suitcase in his hand
I was much too young to know
Why daddy was leaving home
Just a five-year old kid in San Leandro
Daddy don't you go
Staring out the window
Watching him drive away
In that trusty old station wagon
Hands against the glass
Basset Hound in the grass
Much too young to know
Why daddy was leaving home
Just a five-year old kid in San Leandro
Half a beer sitting by the ashtray
Tabletop filled with bills
Mama's getting mean and angry
'Cuz of wine and sleeping pills
Daddy don't you go
Staring out the window
Watching him drive away
In that trusty old station wagon
Hands against the glass
Basset Hound in the grass
Much too young to know
Why daddy was leaving home
Just a five-year old kid in San Leandro
Chester out baying on the front lawn
How he loved that good old dog
A family torn, a tragedy
Such a sad and lonesome song
Daddy, don't you go
Staring out the window
Watching him drive away
In that trusty old station wagon
Just a five-year old kid in San Leandro