Texas Trilogy: Daybreak

(S. Fromholz)
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 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;
Well they put out fresh eggs,
And throw bad ones away,
That rotted because
of the heat yesterday,
The store is 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 are open,
The coffee is bubbling hot,
'Cause the folks that ain't working
Gonna sit there 'til sundown,
And talk about what they ain't got,
Someone just threw a clutch
In the old pickup truck,
It seems like they're riding
on a streak of bad luck;
The doctor bills came,
And the well has gone dry,
Seems their grown kids don't care,
Whether they live or die.