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 Dm (xx0231@1) Em (022000@1) F (133211@1) EmSix (022000@1)o'clock silence of a new day beginning Dm (xx0231@1) G (320003@1) AIs (x02220@1)heard in the small Texas town Dm (xx0231@1) Em (022000@1) F (133211@1) EmLike (022000@1)a signal from nowhere the people who live there Dm (xx0231@1) G (320003@1) AAre (x02220@1)up and they're moving around CHORUS D7 (xx0212@1) G7'Cause (320001@1)there's bacon to fry and there's biscuits to bake D7 (xx0212@1) G7On (320001@1)the stove that the Salvation Army won't take D7 (xx0212@1) G7And (320001@1)you open the windows and you turn on the fan A (x02220@1) A/G (302220@1) A/F (102220@1) A/E'Cause (002220@1)it's hotter than hell when the sun hits the land 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 G (320003@1) FWell, (133211@1)the last time I remember that train stoppin at the depot C (x32010@1) GWas (320003@1)when me and my Aunt Veta came riding back from Waco G (320003@1) FI (133211@1)remember I was wearing my long pants and we was sharing C (x32010@1) GConversation (320003@1)with a man who sold ball-point pens and paper F (133211@1) C (x32010@1) GAnd (320003@1)the train stopped once in Clifton where my Aunt bought me some ice cream F (133211@1) C (x32010@1) GAnd (320003@1)my Mom was there to meet us when the train pulled into Kopperl CHORUS F (133211@1) C (x32010@1) GBut (320003@1)now kids at night break window lights F (133211@1) C (x32010@1) GAnd (320003@1)the sound of trains only remains F (133211@1) C (x32010@1) GIn (320003@1)the memory of the ones like me F (133211@1) C (x32010@1) GWho (320003@1)have turned their backs on the splintered cracks F (133211@1) C (x32010@1) GIn (320003@1)the walls that stand on the railroad land F (133211@1) C (x32010@1) GWhere (320003@1)we used to play and then run away C (x32010@1) From the depot 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 C (x32010@1) F (133211@1) G (320003@1) CMary (x32010@1)Martin was a schoolgirl just seventeen or so C (x32010@1) F (133211@1) D (xx0232@1) GWhen (320003@1)she married Billy Archer about fourteen years ago F (133211@1) G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) FNot (133211@1)even out of high school folks said it wouldn't last D (xx0232@1) GBut (320003@1)when you grow up in the country, you grow up mighty fast C (x32010@1) F (133211@1) G (320003@1) V They married in a hurry in March when school was out C (x32010@1) F (133211@1) D (xx0232@1) GFolks (320003@1)said that she was pregnant, "You just wait and you'll find out." F (133211@1) G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) FIt (133211@1)came about that winter, one gray November morn C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) CThe (x32010@1)first of many more to come, a baby boy was born CHORUS C (x32010@1) FAnd (133211@1)cattle is their game, and Archer is the name D (xx0232@1) GThey (320003@1)give to the acres that they own F (133211@1) G (320003@1) C (x32010@1) FIf (133211@1)the Brazos don't run dry and the newborn calves they don't die C (x32010@1) AmAnother (x02210@1)year from Mary will have flown C (x32010@1) G (320003@1) CAnother (x32010@1)year from Mary will have flown 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)