He was old school and overalls Tough as nails as I recall He fought a war and came back home Honest as the day was long And right before my grandpa died He looked me right straight in the eyes Said here's some words to get you by To help you on the journey of your life You'll need a hero And a good dog Especially a good dog A hammer and a handsaw A band-aid now and then You'll need a home to come home to Son we all need a refuge On the straight and narrow path You need to learn to bend Get a good square keep it level Have grace to face the devil You'll need an angel flying by your side On the journey of your life Ride the wind 'til we meet again On the other side of life You'll need some good luck and a Bible Especially a Bible A lot of faith in God above And a woman you can love You'll need a good song that you can sing on And a shoulder you can lean on And you gotta draw the line sometimes when push comes to shove You'll need to lose some to be a winner And have courage to surrender You'll need to laugh a lot and keep it light On the journey of your life And no matter what dreams you're chasing Never get above your raising And may the simple things be amazing On the journey of your life He said I'll be the angel flying by your side On the journey of your life