TEXAS TRILOGY (Steven Fromholz) Performed by Lyle Lovett on "Step Inside this House" Originally Submitted by Mark Albert markalbert@pipeline.com Tweaked and formatted by mirthmgr TEXAS TRILOGY: DAYBREAK VERSE 1

^DmSix o'clock s^Emilence of a ^Fnew day begin^Emning ^DmIs heard in the ^Gsmall Texas ^Atown ^DmLike a signal from ^Emnowhere the ^Fpeople who ^Emlive there ^DmAre up and they're m^Goving ar^Aound

CHORUS

'Cause there's ^D7bacon to fry and there's biscuits^G7 to bake ^D7On the stove that the Salvation A^G7rmy won't take ^D7And you open the windows and you turn on the fan ^G7 'Cause it's ^Ahotter than ^A/Ghell when the ^A/Fsun hits the ^A/Eland

VERSE 2 Walter and Fanny, well they own the grocery That sells most all that you need They've been up and working since early this morning They've got the whole village to feed They put out fresh eggs, throw bad ones away That rotted because of the heat yesterday The store's all dark so you can't see the flies That settle on round steak and last Monday's pies VERSE 3 Sleepy Hill's Drugstore and the cafe they're open The coffee is bubbling hot And all the folks that ain't working gonna sit there 'till sundown And talk about what they ain't got Someone just threw a clutch in the old pickup truck It seems like they been riding on a streak of bad luck The doctors bills came and the well has gone dry Seems their grown kids don't care whether they live or die CODA: G ---------- TEXAS TRILOGY: TRAIN RIDE VERSE 1

Well, the ^Glast time I remember that train ^Fstoppin at the depot Was when ^Cme and my Aunt Veta came riding back from ^GWaco I re^Gmember I was wearing my long ^Fpants and we was sharing Conversa^Ction with a man who sold ball-point pens and ^Gpaper And the ^Ftrain stopped once in ^CClifton where my ^GAunt bought me some ice cream And my M^Fom was there to ^Cmeet us when the ^Gtrain pulled into Kopperl

CHORUS

But now ^Fkids at ^Cnight break ^Gwindow lights And the ^Fsound of ^Ctrains on^Gly remains In the m^Femory o^Cf the ^Gones like me Who have t^Furned their ^Cbacks on the ^Gsplintered cracks In the w^Falls that ^Cstand on the ^Grailroad land Where we ^Fused to ^Cplay and then ^Grun away From the d^Cepot man

VERSE 2 I remember me and brother used to run down to the depot Just to listen to the whistle blow when the train pulled into Kopperl And the engine's big and shiny black as coal that fed the fire And the engineer he'd smile and say, "Howdy, how you fellows?" And the people by the windows playing cards and reading papers Seemed as far away to us as next summer's school vacation CHORUS ---------- TEXAS TRILOGY: BOSQUE COUNTRY ROMANCE VERSE 1

Mary M^Cartin was a s^Fchoolgirl just ^Gseventeen or ^Cso ^CWhen she married Billy ^FArcher about ^Dfourteen years a^Ggo Not ^Feven out of ^Ghigh school folks ^Csaid it wouldn't ^Flast But when you ^Dgrow up in the country, you grow up mighty ^Gfast C F G V They married in a hurry in March when school was out Folks ^Csaid that she was ^Fpregnant, "You ^Djust wait and you'll ^Gfind out." It c^Fame about that w^Ginter, one ^Cgray November ^Fmorn ^CThe first of many more to come, a ^Gbaby boy was ^Cborn

CHORUS

^CAnd cattle is their game, and Archer is the ^Fname They ^Dgive to the acres that they ^Gown If the ^FBrazos don't run d^Gry and the ^Cnewborn calves ^Fthey don't die A^Cnother year from Mary will have ^Amflown ^CAnother year from M^Gary will have f^Clown

VERSE 2 Now Billy kept what cattle his daddy could afford As he went bouncing across the cactus in a 1950 Ford But the cows were sick and skinny and the weeds was all that grew But Billy kept the place alive the only thing he knew And Mary cooked the supper and Mary scrubbed the clothes And Mary busted horses and blew the baby's nose And Mary and a shotgun kept the rattlesnakes away And how she kept on smiling no one could ever say (CHORUS) VERSE 3 Now the drought of '57 was a curse upon the land No one in Bosque County could give ol' Bill a helping hand The ground was cracked and broken and the truck was out of gas And cows can't feed on prickly pear instead of growing grass Well the weather got the water and a snake bite took a child And a fire in the old barn took the hay that Bill had piled The mortgage got the money and the screw worm got the cows The years have come for Mary; she's waiting for them now (CHORUS) CODA (repeat DAYBREAK VERSE 1 in Am)

Lyle Lovett - Texas trilogy