Six o'clock, silence of a new day beginning
Is heard in a small Texas town
Like a signal from nowhere, the people who live there
They're up and they're moving around

'Cause there's bacon to fry and there's biscuits to bake
On the stove that the Salvation Army won't take
And you open the windows and you turn on the fan
'Cause it's hotter than hell when the sun hits the land

Walter and Fanny, well, they own the grocery
That sells most all that you need
They've been up and working since early this morning
They've got the whole village to feed

They put out fresh eggs, they throw bad ones away
That rotted because of the heat yesterday
The store is all dark, so you can't see the flies
That settle on round steak and last Monday's pies

Sleepy Hill Drugstore and the café, they're open
And the coffee is bubbling hot
And all the folks that ain't working gonna sit there till sundown
And talk about what they ain't got

Someone just blew a clutch in the old pickup truck
It seems like they've been riding on a streak of bad luck
The doctor bills came and the well has gone dry
Seems their grown kids don't care whether they live or die