Chapter One: Childhood: Littlefield

I was born in '37
A sharecropper's son
Out on the great south plains
There in the suburbs of a dry land cotton patch
In the middle of a west Texas rain
And for all you folks out there in radio land
Who don't know what a west Texas rain is
Well, that's what's commonly known as a sandstorm
Remember that, you'll need it later

I guess times were hard, but living was easy
We always found a way to survive
Fried chicken and gravy and an old Gene Autry guitar
Was enough to keep a country boy alive
And on Saturday afternoon it was Flash Naru at the picture show
On Saturday night it was a grand old uproar from Nashville, Tennessee
Take it away boys, take it away

Looking back now and thinking it over
Life is like an old country song
My mama taught me the melody, daddy taught me the chords
I made the words up on my own
And sometimes they didn't rhyme, but they always had a reason
Even if it was unbeknownst to no one but myself
I guess all that west Texas sand in my craw
That's what makes me so mean

I bet I was the only boy that was ever expelled from Sunday school
Lover, fighter, wild horse rider, and pretty darn good windmill man
Look out world, here I come