Truck Driver

My uncle died in a fire on his birthday

Redneck, heard he was burning trash in his yard one day

And on to the pile, he threw an aerosol can of spray

And that's how he died in the fire that day

Before he retired, he was a truck driver

He'd be gone through the winters and all through the summers

In the winters, us kids would order Dominos and watch Happy Days

And in the summer, we'd get frogs at the ponds and fry up their legs

My Aunt still lives there, I don't know how

I'd visit her in LaVarne, she makes me smile

We'd remember the story of when I was young

Getting stung by a hornet, she caressed my foot

Rubbed bacon powder on it

I was probably 5 at their home in LaVarne

My cousin's friend was in the yard playing guitar

We all gathered around, listened to her play and sing

And I fell into a trance and knew one day I would do the same thing

My Uncle died in a fire on his birthday

Out by the barn and his old collection of cars

Third degree burns, a charred up shawl in his hand

My Uncle died a respected man

I flew out there, I went to his funeral

Was storming that day, the sky was deep purple

And babies were crying, Kentucky Fried Chicken was served

And that's how he would've wanted it, I'm sure

And after the funeral out there in LaVarne

They all gathered around when I picked up a guitar

They fell into a trance as I sang and I played

And outside the frogs croaked and the mantises prayed