Jenny never knew her dad
but she knew his name was Tom
and he died so many years ago
while fighting in Vietnam

Jenny became a nurse helping
those who'd gone to war
she worked at the VA hospital
on the second floor

Jenny always feared the homeless
men on the street
she rolled up her car window
when they asked for funds to eat

She never looked them in the eye
or heard their tale of blues
she knew that any funds she gave
would go for drugs or booze

Jenny wasn't heartless
she just couldn't stand a loser
she had little sympathy
for drug addicts and boozers

Jenny had a giving heart
for those who stood on their feet
she could not comprehend
how someone cold give in to defeat
She met Frank at the hospital
they were married and had a boy
her life was filled with happiness
mutual love and joy

sometimes she felt a little jealous
when she saw a father with his daughter
it made her think about her own dad
and how much sadness this loss had caused her

then one day she saw an old homeless man
in a hospital bed
although the man was still alive
he looked to be half dead

his eyes looked so familiar
so she looked at the name on his chart
the man's name was her father's
she read with a sinking heart

Jenny wasn't heartless
she just couldn't stand a loser
she had little sympathy
for drug addicts and boozers

Jenny had a giving heart
for those who stood on their feet
she could not comprehend
how someone could give in to defeat

Jenny asked her mom that night
why she'd said her dad had died
her mom said that was the truth
that since the war he'd died inside

when he came back from the war
he couldn't fit into society
he spent each waking hour
consumed with insobriety

the old man in the hospital
died quietly as he slept
but Jenny was at his bedside
and held his hand as she wept

he was buried in a Veteran cemetery
only Jenny and her mom were there
there was no one else who seemed to know
or perhaps didn't care

Jenny wasn't heartless
she just couldn't stand a loser
she had little sympathy
for drug addicts and boozers

Jenny had a giving heart
for those who stood on their feet
she could not comprehend
how someone could give in to defeat

she still doesn't give money
to the homeless men on the street
but she does give them a coupon
to get a bite to eat

at the shelter she has started
for those whose lives are bad
and she named the homeless shelter
after the hero who ws her dad