Texas Drought, Pt. 1 - Rodney Crowell

The sidewalks are blazing hot

Like white-fire from a pistol shot

The sun at its zenith is proudly displayed

The old man across the street

Swears he can’t stand the heat

He’d pay a king’s ransom for one patch of shade

There’s cracks in the creek bed deep

Dry dirt where the craw dead sleep

And dust in the birdbath is out of control

The treefrogs have ceased to sing

The fireflies have lost their zing

And life on the rice farm is taking a toll

Brazos river’s less than three feet deep

Watermelon farmer’s wife can’t sleep

Dust dripping from a windmill spout

Everybody wants to end this drought

The firetrucks and sirens scream

Like scenes from an old bad dream

The drought seeps into your bones

Till your last sip of water’s gone

And a rise from the ashes falls on your head

The jukebox plays Jimmy Reed

Dry-winds blow tumbleweed

The blues and the night have a mind of their own

With beer joints to slake our thirst

We wait for the great cloud-burst

Pray let there be raindrops the size of a stone

Witch doctor beat the tom-tom loud

Helicopter pilot seed the clouds

Baptist preacher get your prayer book out

Somebody’s got to end this drought

Cattle rancher watch the skies all day

Sun is shining but you can’t make hay

The only thing you wanna talk about

Is how on earth we’re gonna end this drought

No doubt

The sidewalks are blazing hot

Like white-fire from a pistol shot

The sun at its zenith is proudly displayed