Release

Hometown

"Thinking bout you sittin here, said 'I hate this, I hate it,'
if you couldn't stand livin here, why'd you take it? Take it?"
~~~~~

My hometown is a small one

not the most amazing little town

the biggest thing here is the 4th of July

and I used to be able to see the fireworks from my old house

even though it was over the river and the mountains

I used to sit on the top of my dad's truck

it was the best seat in the house.

Our school was small

total senior class equals about fifty to sixty

not eight hundred like where you live

we're behind the rest of the state for standard education

most kids fail math at least once

but we do well in agriculture and the girls know how to change tires

how to drive tractors

how to tell the difference between crops

how to drive when we're twelve

how to swin the creeks and canals somewhat safely

and how to approach life.

You don't get those traits in the city

you learn traffic signs and speed limits

and your mind is limited

to what you learn in school

so you're book smart

but not street smart

and you lack common sense

whereas us, we're street smart

and we use common sense

and some of us are book smart as an added plus

so you can take your certificates and your awards

and shove em up your derrick

but you don't know what that is, do you?

My hometown's small

everybody knows everybody

I go to the gas station and know half of the people inside

I go to the restaurant and know the owner and the cook personally

I know the postmaster

I know the road guys

I know who owns the field across from me, and he knows me

I know my neighbor's favorite soda (Royal Crown Cola)

I know everyone here.

So it scares me to move because I'll go from knowing everybody

to knowing nobody at all

in that big city of trees

new state

new state of mind

but I have to thank my hometown

for making me into the person I am today

and you're ever in my town

look around and say hi

and feel

loved.