Papa had a wife and kids he kept them on a leash and he bid them all to do his every deed

When he was a kid he was treated just the same so he hid his feelings from his family

Lost as an island out at sea, resistant to the gentle waves of empathy



Papa and his family always on parade

Tearing through the turnstiles, a weekender's charade

But time will tell, as their world crumbles to hell



What they created was a family story no one will tell

It's a photo album too terrible

But the pride and the pallor continue to swell as the matron silently prays



Junior resented the tradition they upheld and it ate him up inside most every day

Silence was golden and they kept him to his word

So bewildered when he finally ran away

Oh, obligations never cease

Oblivious of the ways to give his soul some peace



Yeah, papa and his family always on parade

Passing through the turnstiles, a weekender's charade

But time will tell, as their world crumbles to hell



What they created was a family story no one will tell

It's a photo album too terrible

But the pride and the pallor continue to swell as the matron silently prays



"Get me out of here, someone's got to save the day." 

The children are reminded to do it for the daddy's sake

And happiness is ever so far, far away.



Yeah, lost as an island out at sea, resistant to the gentle waves of empathy

Papa and his family always on parade

Tearing through the turnstiles, a weekender's charade

It's just a sick calamity that fatherhood made, but time will tell, as their world crumbles to hell



What they created was a family story no one will tell

It's a photo album too terrible

But the pride and the pallor continue to swell as the matron silently prays