Telephone Road

Rain came down in endless sheets of thunder Lightning bolts split pine trees down to the roots In the shadow of the Astrodome With a hurricane coming on strong We used to hit the streets and go swimming in our birthday suits Skiing in a bar ditch behind a moped 13 stitches on the corner of a sardine can We were dirt poor Houston kids Our whole family living on the skids But we always had a nickel for the coming of the ice cream man Mosquito truck blowing up DDT Barefoot heathens running wild and free Air raid buzzer at a noon-day scream Living in a dream On Telephone Road I used to love them cherry Cokes down at the Prince's Drive-In And the cheeseburgers tasted so good I like to come untied There's a Chinaberry tree I remember I used to climb in and out of my window The night I left was on the day before my Grandma died Sawdust spread out on a dance hall floor Jukebox ripping at an all-out roar Barmaid smiling at a 10 cent tip Living is a trip On Telephone Road Magnolia Garden bandstand on the very front row Johnny Cash Carl Perkins and The Killer putting on a show Six years old and just barely off my daddy's knee When those rockabilly rebels Sent the Devil running right through me A drive-in movie in the trunk of my car One-eyed sailor in an ice house bar Spit-shine Charlie and ol' Peg-leg Bill Are dressed up fit to kill On Telephone Road Telephone Road, Telephone Road Barbecue and beer on ice A salty watermelon slice At the Little Taste of Paradise On Telephone Road