Well, I was born in a town called Southwest Iowa, right it oughta been Twenty-three houses, saloons, And a mill in nineteen-thirty. Had a neon sign, "Squealer Feeds" And the bus came through they felt the need And stopped at a place there in town called The Old Home Cafe
Now my was a music lovin' man He stood six-foot-seven, had big ol' He'd lost two fingers in a but he could still play the violin And Mom played piana, just the keys in the And Dad played a storm on his three-fingered 'Cause that's all there was to do back there folks, except ta go and watch haircuts
So I was raised on Dust tunes, you see Had a radio an' no TV It was so hot I had to wet the bed in the summer just to keep cool. Yeah, a night I'd lay awake A-waitin' for a station break Just a-settin' and a-wettin' an' a-lettin' that fry.
Well, I listened to Nashville and and Dallas And Oklahoma City my ear a callus And I'll never them announcers at three A.M. They'd come on an' say "Friends, many a soul who needs us "So send them letters an' cards ta "That's J-E-S-U-S friends, in a' Del Rio, Texas."
But the I remember, on the edge a' town Was the place where you got the hard-core sound Yeah, a place the truckers used ta stop on their way to Dees Moins There was signs all over windowsills Like "If the Devil get ya, then Roosevelt will" And "The don't sell no beer, and we don't cash no checks."
Now them truckers never about nothin' but haulin' And the words was really appallin' They thought them home-town gals was nothin' but toys for amusement. Rode Chevys and Macks and big ol' They's complainin' 'bout their livers an' backs But they was fast-livin', strung-out, truck-drivin' son of a
Now the gal waitin' was really classy Had a rebuilt motor on a new chassis And she knew how to handle them truckers; name was Mavis Yeah, she'd pour 'em a coffee, then she'd bat her Then listen to 'em tell 'er some big fat lies Then she'd ask 'em how the and kids was, back there in Joplin?
Now Mavis had all of her in a row Weighed pounds; put on quite a show Remind ya of a a' Cub Scouts tryin' ta set up a Sears, Roebuck pup tent There's no proposition that she handle Next ta her, nothin' could hold a Not a hell of a lot upstairs, but there on down, Disneyland!
Now the truckers, on the hand, was really crass They remind ya of fingernails a-scratchin' on A-stompin' on in, leavin' tracks all over the Montgomery Ward Yeah, they'd pound them counters and kick them They's always pickin' with the local fools But one look at Mavis, and they'd turn into a a' tomcats
Well, I'll never them days gone by I's a kid, 'bout four foot high But I forgot that lesson an' pickin' and singin', the country way Yeah, walkin', talkin' truck stop blues back ta life in seventy-two As "The Old Filler-up An' Keep On A-Truckin' Cafe"
Oh, the Old Home Filler-up An' On A-Truckin' Oh, the Old Home Filler-up An' Keep On Oh, the Old Filler-up An' Keep On A-Truckin' Cafe Oh, the Old Home An' Keep On A-Truckin' Oh, the Old Home Filler-up An' On A-Truckin' Oh, the Old Filler-up An' Keep On A-Truckin' Cafe