When he was a little boy His father used to say, "You want to grow to be a man? You'd better start today" Listen closely to my words And I will show you how There're seven steps to manhood And I'll teach them to you now The only thing you'll ever own Is what you hold inside Your dignity, intelligence Your loyalty and pride Ego and indifference Are cancers of the weak Honesty is godliness Be truthful when you speak If you want to be remembered When your earthly life is through Then teach your sons to leave their mark On everything they do Know when to turn the other cheek Know when to seek revenge The vine that never picks a side Dies rotting on the fence Son, you wanna grow up Think you ought to slow up I see disaster in everything you do Dad, when I grow up Things are gonna blow up I'm gonna be a man just like you When the son became a father Then he told his children, too "Be mindful of the things I say And not the things I do" It's very hard to be the man You read about in books The knights and kings you fantasized Now commoners and crooks But no one can imprison An educated mind So be yourself and free yourself By learning all the time If you should discover You've given all you can There's nothing more to answer for That's how to be a man Son, you wanna grow up Think you ought to slow up I see disaster in everything you do Dad, when I grow up Things are gonna blow up I'm gonna be a man just like you