I Needed You, Dad. Uke tab by HG (Baritone Chords)

[Verse 1]
C
I used to count the days until the weekend,
G
Waiting for the time I'd see you again.
Am
I'd pack my things and leave home for a while,
F
Thinking maybe this time I'd see you smile.
C
But lately I don't wanna come around,
G
'Cause every time I see you, you're not really there.
Am
You're sitting right in front of me,
F
But the bottle takes the place where you should be.
[Pre-Chorus]
Am
And I don't know if I should stay or go,
F
'Cause I love you, but you hurt me more than you know.
C
So I started keeping my distance instead,
G
Just to protect what's left inside my head.
[Chorus]
C
You're still my Dad, and I still love you,
G
But loving you is harder than it used to.
Am
I needed your hand, I needed your time,
G
But promises don't mean much when they fade away.
Am
I wasn't asking you to be perfect, Dad,
F
I just needed the father I thought I had.
[Verse 2]
C
I wish you'd called me sometime during the week,
G
Just to ask how I was, just to hear me speak.
Am
I wish you'd said, "Come on, I'll pick you up,"
F
"Let's get out of here, we'll spend some time."
C
Not just another weekend, then goodbye,
G
Not another "I'll call you" that passes by.
Am
I wanted more than just a place to go,
F
I wanted you to make me feel I mattered most.
C
And when you and Mom couldn't make it work,
G
I watched the pieces fall and tried to stay strong.
Am
I never really knew what I should feel,
F
So I kept it all inside until it started hurting.
[Pre-Chorus]
Am
I got angry at the things I couldn't say,
F
At every promise that you threw away.
C
And maybe I should've talked to you back then,
G
Instead I carried it alone again and again.
Am
Now I'm learning how to let it out,
F
Learning what all this pain was about.
C
And part of me still feels like it's my fault,
G
Like maybe I should've been there when you couldn't stop.
[Chorus]
C
You're still my Dad, and I still love you,
G
But loving you is harder than it used to.
Am
I needed your hand, I needed your time,
F
I needed to know that you'd stand by mine.
C
You say you're proud, and maybe you are,
G
But I needed to feel it, not just hear the words.
Am
I wasn't asking you to be perfect, Dad,
F
I just needed you to really be there.
[Bridge]
Am
I remember fishing, sitting next to you,
F
For a little while, it felt like we were good.
C
Those are the moments that I wish I could keep,
G
The little pieces of you I still have with me.
Am
And I know you're not just all the things you've done,
F
I know there was a time when you were just my Dad.
C
That's why it's so hard to walk away,
G
'Cause part of me still hopes you'll change someday.
Am
I don't want to hate you, I never did,
F
I just wish you'd seen me when I was a kid.
C
I needed someone to tell me, "I'm right here."
G
Someone who wouldn't disappear.
[Final Chorus]
C
You're still my Dad, and I still love you,
G
Even though there's things I can't undo.
Am
I can keep my distance and still care,
F
I can miss you even when you're not there.
C
Maybe someday you'll understand,
G
Why I had to let go of your hand.
Am
It wasn't hate, I was just trying to survive,
F
Trying to keep a little peace inside.
C
You're still my Dad, and that's why it hurts,
G
'Cause I needed you when everything got worse.
Am
And if you ever ask what I needed back then—
F
I didn't need a perfect man.
C
I just needed you...
G
I just needed you...
Am
To be there...
F
Dad.
[Outro]
C
Maybe I still hope you will.
G
Maybe that's why I can't let go.
Am
You're still my Dad.
F
And I'll always love you.
C
Even from a distance.