Grandpa tells a story every years the same He goes through every detail like nothing ever changed We gather round the table, like the years before How he left his home behind in search of something more Oh he worked, dreamed, for his family To bring them to a new life and build a legacy And oooh, one day at a time He kept on a steady climb Rising up to build a brand new life And oooh, the only way that he knew how From sun up to sun down He built it up from the ground And he knew that some day this would be His American Dream Fifteen days on water, seven years alone One way ticket on a boat, to a place he'd never known He started off with nothing, but a bed to rest his head He'd work his fingers to the bone if it meant he'd get ahead Oh he worked, dreamed, for his family To bring them to America and build a legacy And oooh, one day at a time He kept on a steady climb Rising up to build a brand new life And oooh, the only way that he knew how From sun up to sun down He built it up from the ground And he knew that some day this would be For his family Someday this would be His American Dream