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Texas Trilogy

Lyle Lovett
Version1
90

Chords in this song

Strum
D-DU-UDU
Six  o'clock silence  of a new  day beginning
Is  heard in the small  Texas town
Like  a signal from nowhere  the people  who live  there
Are  up and they're moving  around
 'Cause there's bacon  to fry and there's biscuits  to bake
On  the stove that the Salvation Army  won't take
And  you open the windows and you turn on the fan
 'Cause it's hotter  than hell  when the sun  hits the land
 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
 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
 TEXAS TRILOGY: TRAIN RIDE
 Well, the last  time I remember that train stoppin  at the depot
 Was when me  and my Aunt Veta came riding back from Waco
 I remember  I was wearing my long pants  and we was sharing
 Conversation  with a man who sold ball-point pens and paper
 And the train  stopped once in Clifton  where my Aunt  bought me some ice cream
 And my Mom  was there to meet  us when the train  pulled into Kopperl
 But now kids  at night  break window  lights
 And the sound  of trains  only  remains
 In the memory  of  the ones  like me
 Who have turned  their backs  on the splintered  cracks
 In the walls  that stand  on the railroad  land
 Where we used  to play  and then run  away
 From the depot  man
 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
 TEXAS TRILOGY: BOSQUE COUNTRY ROMANCE
 Mary Martin  was a schoolgirl  just seventeen  or so
When  she married Billy Archer  about fourteen  years ago
 Not even  out of high  school folks said  it wouldn't last
 But when you grow  up in the country, you grow up mighty fast
   V
 They married in a hurry in March when school was out
 Folks said  that she was pregnant,  "You just wait  and you'll find out."
 It came  about that winter,  one gray  November morn
The  first of many more to come, a baby  boy was born
And  cattle is their game, and Archer is the name
 They give  to the acres that they own
 If the Brazos  don't run dry  and the newborn  calves they  don't die
 Another  year from Mary will have flown
Another  year from Mary  will have flown
 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)
 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)
 repeat DAYBREAK VERSE 1 in Am)

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Readable chord sheet for Texas Trilogy by Lyle Lovett

[Dm]Six o'clock s[Em]ilence of a [F]new day begin[Em]ning
[Dm]Is heard in the [G]small Texas [A]town
[Dm]Like a signal from [Em]nowhere the [F]people who [Em]live there
[Dm]Are up and they're m[G]oving ar[A]ound

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

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

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

[G]

TEXAS TRILOGY: TRAIN RIDE

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

But now [F]kids at [C]night break [G]window lights
And the [F]sound of [C]trains on[G]ly remains
In the m[F]emory o[C]f the [G]ones like me
Who have t[F]urned their [C]backs on the [G]splintered cracks
In the w[F]alls that [C]stand on the [G]railroad land
Where we [F]used to [C]play and then [G]run away
From the d[C]epot man

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

TEXAS TRILOGY: BOSQUE COUNTRY ROMANCE

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

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

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)

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)

repeat DAYBREAK VERSE 1 in Am)

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