My Tribute To Texas

Well, a man come on the 6 o'clock news,
Said somebody's been shot, somebody's been abused.
Somebody blew up a building, somebody stole a car.
Somebody got away. somebody didn't get too far, yeah.
They didn't get too far.

Grandpappy told my pappy: "Back in my day, son,
"A man had to answer for the wicked that he done.
"Take all the rope in Texas, find a tall oak tree,
"Round up all of them bad boys, hang them high in the street,
"For all the people to see that:

"Justice is the one thing you should always find.
"You got to saddle up your boys,
"You got to draw a hard line.
"When the gunsmoke settles, we'll sing a victory tune.
"We'll all meet back at the local saloon,
"We'll raise up our glasses against evil forces,
"Singing: 'Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses.'"

We got too many gangsters doing dirty deeds,
Too much corruption, too much crime in the streets.
It's time the long arm of the law put a few more in the ground.
Send 'em all to their maker and he'll settle 'em down:
You can bet he'll settle 'em down 'cause,

Justice is the one thing you should always find.
You got to saddle up your boys,
You got to draw a hard line.
When the gunsmoke settles, we'll sing a victory tune.
We'll all meet back at the local saloon,
We'll raise up our glasses against evil forces,
Singing: "Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses."
"Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses."

You know that justice is the one thing you should always find.
You got to saddle up your boys,
You got to draw a hard line.
When the gunsmoke settles, we'll sing a victory tune.
We'll all meet back at the local saloon,
We'll raise up our glasses against evil forces,
Singin': "Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses."
Singin': "Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses."

Greetings friends and relatives, Bum Phillips is from
Orange, Tx.,went to high school in Beaumont, Tx.,
played ball at Lamar Junior College in late 40's,
coached high school all over Texas and in Amarillo,
coached under Bear Bryant at A&M, head coach at Texas Western
[Elpaso], asst. coach for San Diego Chargers under Sid Gillman,
head coach Houston Oilers, New Orleans Saints and now lives
on a ranch in South Texas. He knows Texas.

What it Means to be a Texan by Bum Phillips
Last year, I wrote a small piece about what it means to me to
be a Texan. My friends know it means about damned near everything.
Anyway, this fella asked me to reprint what I'd wrote and I didn't
have it. So I set out to think about rewriting something.
I considered writing about all the great things I love about Texas.
There are way too many things to list.

I can't even begin to do it justice. Lemme let you in on my short list.
It starts with The Window at Big Bend, which in and of itself is
proof of God. It goes to Lake Sam Rayburn where my Grandad taught me
more about life than fishin, and enough about fishin to last a lifetime.
I can talk about Tyler, and Longview, and Odessa and Cisco, and Abilene
and Poteet and every place in between.

Every little part of Texas feels special. Every person who ever
flew the Lone Star thinks of Bandera or Victoria or Manor or wherever
they call "home" as the best little part of the best state. So I got to
thinking about it, and here's what I really want to say.

Last year, I talked about all the great places and great heroes
who make Texas what it is. I talked about Willie and Waylon and Michael
Dell and Michael DeBakey and my Dad and LBJ and Denton Cooley. I talked
about everybody that came to mind. It took me sitting here tonight
reading this stack of emails and thinkin about where I've been and what
I've done since the last time I wrote on this occasion to remind me
what it is about Texas that is really great.

You see, this last month or so I finally went to Europe for the
first time. I hadn't ever been, and didn't too much want to. But you know
all my damned friends are always talking about "the time they went to
Europe." So, I finally went. It was a hell of a trip to be sure.
Alll they did when they saw me was say the same thing, before they'd ever
met me. "Hey cowboy, we love Texas." I guess the hat tipped em off.
But let me tell you what, they all came up with a smile on their faces.
You know why? They knew for damned sure that I was gonna be nice to em.
They knew it cause they knew I was from Texas. They knew something
that hadn't even hit me.They knew Texans, even though they'd never met one.

That's when it occurred to me. Do you know what is great about
Texas? Do you know why when my friend Beverly and I were
trekking across country to see 15 baseball games we got sick
and had to come home after 8? Do you know why every time
I cross the border I say, "Lord, please don't let me die in _____"?
Do you know why children in Japan can look at a picture of the great
State and know exactly what it is about the same time
they can tell a rhombus from a trapezoid?
I can tell you that right quick. You. The same spirit that made
186 men cross that line in the sand in San Antonio damned near 165
years ago is still in you today. Why else would my friend send
me William Barrett Travis' plea for help in an email just a week
ago, or why would Charles Stanfield ask me to reprint a
Texas Independence column from a year ago?
What would make my friend Elizabeth say, "I don't know if I can
marry a man who doesn't love Texas like I do?"
Why in the hell are 1,000 people coming to my house this weekend to
celebrate a holiday for what used to be a nation that is now a state?

Because the spirit that made that nation is the spirit that
burned in every person who founded this great place we call Texas,
and they passed it on through blood or sweat to every one of us.

You see, that spirit that made Texas what it is is alive in all
of us, even if we can't stand next to a cannon to prove it, and it's our
responsibility to keep that fire burning. Every person who ever put a
"Native Texan" or an "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I
could" sticker on his car understands. Anyone who ever hung a map of Texas
on their wall or flew a Lone Star flag on their porch knows what I mean.

My Dad's buddy, Bill, has an old saying. He says that
some people were forged of a hotter fire.
Well, that's what it is to be Texan.
To be forged of a hotter fire.
To know that part of Colorado was Texas.
That part of New Mexico was Texas.
That part of Oklahoma was Texas. Yep. Talk you want.
Part of what you got was what we gave you.

To look at a picture of Idaho or Istanbul and say, "what the
Hell is that?" when you know that anyone in Idaho or Istanbul
who sees a picture of Texas knows damned good and
well what it is.

It isn't the shape, it isn't the state, it's the state of mind.
You're what makes Texas. The fact that you would take 15 minutes
out of your day to read this, because that's what Texas means
to you, that's what makes Texas what it is. The fact that when
you see the guy in front of you litter you honk and think,
"S_n of a b_ _ch. Littering on MY highway."

When was the last time you went to a person's house
in New York and you saw a big map of New York on their wall?
That was never. When did you ever drive through Oklahoma
and see their flag waving on four businesses in a
row? Can you even tell me what the flag in Louisiana looks
like? I damned sure can't. But I bet my ass you
can't drive 20 minutes from your house and not see a business
that has a big Texas flag as part of its logo.

If you haven't done business with someone called AllTex something
or Lone Star somebody or other, or Texas such and
such, you hadn't lived here for too long.
When you ask a man from New York what he is, he'll say a
stockbroker, or an accountant, or an ad exec.
When you ask a woman from California what
she is, she'll tell you her last name or her major.
Hell either of 'em might say "I'm a republican,"
or they might be a democrat.When you ask a Texan what
they are, before they say, "I'm a Methodist," or "I'm a lawyer,"
or "I'm a Smith," they tell you they're a Texan.

I got nothin against all those other places, and Lord knows
they've probably got some fine folks, but in your gut you
know it just like I do, Texas is just a little different.

So tomorrow when you drive down the road and you see a person
broken down on the side of the road, stop and help.
When you are in a bar in California, buy a Californian a
drink and tell him it's for Texas Independence Day.
Remind the person in the cube next to you that
he wouldn't be here enjoying this if it weren't for Sam Houston,
and if he or she doesn't know the story, tell them.
When William Barrett Travis wrote in 1836 that he would never
surrender and he would have Victory or Death, what he was
really saying was that he and his men were forged of a hotter fire.
They weren't your average every day men.

Well, that is what it means to be a Texan. It meant
it then, and that's why it means just what all those people
North of the Red River accuse us of thinking it means.
It means there's no mountain that we can't climb.
It means that we can swim the Gulf in the winter.
It means that Earl Campbell ran harder, and Houston is
bigger and Dallas is richer and Alpine is hotter and Stevie Ray
was smoother and God vacations in Texas.
It means that come Hell or high water,when the chips are down
and the Good Lord is watching, we're Texans by damned,
and just like in 1836, that counts for something.
So for today at least, when your chance comes around,
go out and prove it.

It's true because we believe it's true.
If you are sitting wondering
what the Hell I'm talking about, this ain't for you.
But if the first thing you are going to do when the
Good Lord calls your number is find the men who sat
in that tiny mission in San Antonio and shake their hands,
then you're the reason I wrote this tonight, and this is for you.

So until next time you hear from me,
God Bless and Happy Texas Independence Day.

"I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag
still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender
nor retreat." William Barret Travis, The Alamo, 24 February 1836

Howdy Ya'll !! My Name is Bill-Bob-Texan, and yes I am a faeman.
But I dun't want to heer not nary a snicker, or I'll take yun's out
back and shoe ye, just how it feels to have a fairy whup your _ _ _ !!
Well we's in the company of ladies or I'd say it.. but yun's know what
I mean... Any way's, M'Lady, came and ask me if'un I'd come heer today
and tell yun's that she too is a Texan, and was right proud to do this
here page... Tem words jist went right to her heart..Well she also
ask if yun's would take a few minutes and go look around in the cottage.

She and sum other's are on this mission of sorts.. and well, they need
all the heep they can git! So if yun's would be so kind as to click on
that there little banner below.. I do believe she has it rigged to take
yuns right to the door.. Okay.. unitl next time.. Ya'll take cere of each
other, and Ya'll come back now ya here !!

The Texas graphics used in the making of this page were from
Sgt Maj. John Murdocks.. Please do not take them without permission.
Just click on the banner below, and go to his site.. Thank you..

I thank you very much for coming, and hope you enjoyed your stay!
Being a Texan is something that only another Texas would understand..
I want to thank my brothers Steve and Randy for sharing this with me..
It immediately inspired me to make this page.. I love and miss you both..
Sis

Ya'll Come Back Now, Ya Here !!

The Texas, My Texas SiteRing

This site owned by
Lady Fairiedust

SiteRing by Bravenet.com

Graphics Acknowledgments:

Please see my Graphics Page ..

Music Playing: "Whiskey For My Men Beer For My Horses"

Sung By: "Toby Keith"And"Willy Nelson"

Music Disclaimer

~Copyright disclaimer~
All songs through out my website are for my evaluation(s)
and/or music listening and educational purposes only.
All copyrights holders still retain any and all of their rights.
Please support all recording artists by purchasing their CD's/Tapes.
No financial gain is made by this website; just music appreciation
A link is provided in the Music Acknowledgement. Just click on their name.

Lady Fairiedust © 2002 through Present

*** Updated 02-19-08 ***

	The Texas, My Texas SiteRing This site owned by Lady Fairiedust