He wore starched white shirts buttoned at the neck
And he'd sit in the shade and watch the chickens peck
And his teeth were gone, but what the heck
I thought that he walked on water

He said he was a cowboy when he was a-young
He could handle a rope and he was good with a gun
And my mama's daddy was his oldest son
And I thought that he walked on water

If the story's told, only heaven knows
But his hat seemed to me like an old halo
And though his wings, they were never seen
I thought that he walked on water

Then he tied a cord to the end of a mop
And said, "Son, here's a pony, keep her at a trot" 
And I'd ride in circles while he laughed a lot
Then I'd flop down beside him

And he was ninety years old in sixty-three 
And I loved him and he loved me
And Lord, I cried the day he died
'Cause I thought that he walked on water

If the story's told, only heaven knows
But his hat seemed to me like an old halo
And though his wings, they were never seen
I thought that he walked on water
I thought that he walked on water