About The Song
“Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind” is a song written by Dave Gibson and Bernie Nelson, and recorded by American country music band Confederate Railroad. It was released in 1994 as the lead-off single from their album Notorious. It peaked at number 9 the United States, and number 7 in Canada. It is their last top ten in the United States.
The song is about the narrator’s father, who rejects the concepts of material wealth when his son purchases a Cadillac automobile. In the final verse, the father dies and his body is driven off in the same Cadillac to his burial site.
The music video was directed by Martin Kahan, and is entirely in black and white.
Video
Lyrics
We were poor when I was a youngun
I don’t remember ever going hungry
Daddy made sure we didn’t do without
I went to school with some of these fellas
They had money and I was jealous
I didn’t know then what I know now
Daddy’d say you can’t judge a book by looking at its cover
It’s what’s inside that really matters
Daddy never was the Cadillac kind
He said some things just glitter and shine
He taught us that love was the one thing money couldn’t buy
Daddy never was the Cadillac kind
I left home right out of high school
Bought me a big car thought I was real cool
Cruisin’ around the old neighborhood
I’d see Dad after church on Sunday
I’d say you’ll have to go riding with me someday
He just said no, I never understood
He asked me how I bought it, I told him on credit
Daddy just smiled, I’ll never forget it
Daddy never was the Cadillac kind
He said some things just glitter and shine
He taught us that love was the one thing money couldn’t buy
Daddy never was the Cadillac kind
It took a while but now I’m grown
I’ve settled down with kids of my own
The more I give them
The more they want
Daddy left us last November
I don’t remember him ever looking better
All laid out in his Sunday best
I’m sure instead of all the attention
All he’d of wanted was a few words mentioned
A simple man simply laid to rest
As they drove him away in that big Cadillac
With a tear in my eye I had to laugh
Daddy never was the Cadillac kind
He said some things just glitter and shine
He taught us that love was the one thing money couldn’t buy
Daddy never was the Cadillac kind