Worked all his life in the rail yards
Summer heat winter cold
He sits by the fire, now he's retired
Though he don't really feel all that old.
She comes in from the kitchen
And sits on the arm of his chair
He looks up and says "hey lady I love you"
Runs his fingers through her hair.
And there's a picture on the wall of Jesus in the garden
It's been there since they got the house in '53,
It ain't no big deal, won't ever go down in history
It's just a little story of an American family.
She waited for him in World War 11
He fought the European campaign,
Their son John spent two years in "Nam
That war wasn't the same.
Billy's out in L.A., he's a lawyer now
They worry he's so far away,
Jeannie got married and lives here in town
They're comin' over with the kids today.
And there's a picture on the wall of Jesus in the garden
It's been there since they got the house in '53,
It ain't no big deal, won't ever go down in history
It's just a little story of an American family.
But the whole world is different now
Bloods been spilt on our shores
In hard times we pull together
That's what a families for
Ain't no big deal, it's written in our history
We're all part of the story of an American family,
We're all part of the story of an American family.