Dm          Em           F          Em
Six o'clock silence of a new day beginning
Dm              G           A
Is heard in the small Texas town
Dm                 Em          F          Em
Like a signal from nowhere the people who live there
Dm                  G       A
Are up and they're moving around

[Chorus]
               D7                       G7
'Cause there's bacon to fry and there's biscuits to bake
D7                              G7
On the stove that the Salvation Army won't take
D7                               G7
And you open the windows and you turn on the fan
            A           A/G           A/F          A/E
'Cause it's hotter than hell when the sun hits the land

[Verse 2]
Dm           Em          F            Em
Walter and Fanny, well they own the grocery
Dm              G           A
That sells most all that you need
Dm                 Em          F          Em
They've been up and working since early this morning
Dm                  G       A
They've got the whole village to feed
D7                               G7
They put out fresh eggs, throw bad ones away
D7                         G7
That rotted because of the heat yesterday
D7                          G7
The store's all dark so you can't see the flies
      A           A/G           A/F          A/E
That settle on round steak and last Monday's pies

[Verse 3]
Dm           Em                 F            Em
Sleepy Hill's Drugstore and the cafe they're open
Dm            G        A
The coffee is bubbling hot
Dm                     Em                  F               Em
And all the folks that ain't working gonna sit there 'till sundown
Dm             G               A
And talk about what they ain't got
D7                                 G7
Someone just threw a clutch in the old pickup truck
D7                                  G7
It seems like they been riding on a streak of bad luck
D7                             G7
The doctors bills came and the well has gone dry
            A                A/G          A/F          A/E
Seems their grown kids don't care whether they live or die

[Instrumental]
Dm  Em  F Em (x4)

Dm (2 measures)

[CODA]
G

E|E|----------||


TEXAS TRILOGY: TRAIN RIDE

[Verse 1]
         G                               F
Well, the last time I remember that train stoppin at the depot
        C                                         G
Was when me and my Aunt Veta came riding back from Waco
   G                            F
I remember I was wearing my long pants and we was sharing
       C                                            G
Conversation with a man who sold ball-point pens and paper
       F                     C                G
And the train stopped once in Clifton where my Aunt bought me some ice cream
       F               C                G
And my Mom was there to meet us when the train pulled into Kopperl

[Chorus]
       F       C           G
But now kids at night break window lights
       F        C        G
And the sound of trains only remains
       F      C     G
In the memory of the ones like me (extra 2 beats)

         F           C            G
Who have turned their backs on the splintered cracks
       F         C            G
In the walls that stand on the railroad land
        F       C             G
Where we used to play and then run away
         C
From the depot man

[Verse 2]
G                                 F
I remember me and brother used to run down to the depot
 C                                         G
Just to listen to the whistle blow when the train pulled into Kopperl
G                            F
And the engine's big and shiny black as coal that fed the fire
C                                         G
And the engineer he'd smile and say, "Howdy, how you fellows?"
F                     C                G
And the people by the windows playing cards and reading papers
F                     C                G
Seemed as far away to us as next summer's school vacation

[Chorus]
    F       C           G
But now kids at night break window lights
       F        C        G
And the sound of trains only remains (extra 2 beats)
       F      C     G
In the memory of the ones like me
         F           C            G
Who have turned their backs on the splintered cracks
       F         C            G
In the walls that stand on the railroad land
        F       C             G
Where we used to play and then run away
         C
From the depot man
         C
From the depot man

E|E|----------||


TEXAS TRILOGY: BOSQUE COUNTRY ROMANCE

[Verse 1]
     C            F               G            C
Mary Martin was a schoolgirl just seventeen or so
C                      F            D               G
When she married Billy Archer about fourteen years ago
    F           G                 C                F
Not even out of high school folks said it wouldn't last
             D                                          G
But when you grow up in the country, you grow up mighty fast
    C             F        G                     C
They married in a hurry in March when school was out
     C                  F                   D                    G
Folks said that she was pregnant, "You just wait and you'll find out."
   F               G           C             F
It came about that winter, one gray November morn
    C                             G            C
The first of many more to come, a baby boy was born

[Chorus]
C                                           F
And cattle is their game, and Archer is the name
     D                           G
They give to the acres that they own
       F                G           C              F
If the Brazos don't run dry and the newborn calves they don't die
 C                               Am
Another year from Mary will have flown
 C                G              C
Another year from Mary will have flown

[Verse 2]
C                   F          G            C
Now Billy kept what cattle his daddy could afford
           C                   F           D    G
As he went bouncing across the cactus in a 1950 Ford
         F                 G              C                  F
But the cows were sick and skinny and the weeds was all that grew
    D                                            G
But Billy kept the place alive the only thing he knew
    C               F          G                 C
And Mary cooked the supper and Mary scrubbed the clothes
    C           F          D               G
And Mary busted horses and blew the baby's nose
    F          G                C             F
And Mary and a shotgun kept the rattlesnakes away
    C                          G              C
And how she kept on smiling no one could ever say

[Chorus]
C                                           F
And cattle is their game, and Archer is the name
     D                           G
They give to the acres that they own
       F                G           C              F
If the Brazos don't run dry and the newborn calves they don't die
 C                               Am
Another year from Mary will have flown
 C                G              C
Another year from Mary will have flown

[Verse 3]
        C            F       G              C
Now the drought of '57 was a curse upon the land
C                F                     D              G
No one in Bosque County could give ol' Bill a helping hand
    F                      G              C                F
The ground was cracked and broken and the truck was out of gas
    D                                                  G
And cows can't feed on prickly pear instead of growing grass
         C               F           G                 C
Well the weather got the water and a snake bite took a child
      C           F                 D                 G
And a fire in the old barn took the hay that Bill had piled
    F                G             C                  F
The mortgage got the money and the screw worm got the cows
    C                               G                C
The years have come for Mary; she's waiting for them now

[Chorus]
C                                           F
And cattle is their game, and Archer is the name
     D                           G
They give to the acres that they own
       F                G           C              F
If the Brazos don't run dry and the newborn calves they don't die
 C                               Am
Another year from Mary will have flown
 C                G              C
Another year from Mary will have flown


Am           Bm          C            Bm
Six o'clock silence of a new day beginning
Am              D           E
Is heard in the small Texas town
Am                 Bm          C          Bm
Like a signal from nowhere the people who live there
Am                  D       E
Are up and they're moving around

[Chorus]
               A7                       D7
'Cause there's bacon to fry and there's biscuits to bake
A7                               D7
On the stove that the Salvation Army won't take
A7                               D7
And you open the windows and you turn on the fan
            E           E/D           E/C          E/B
'Cause it's hotter than hell when the sun hits the land