Standard (EADGBE)

Intro

 It got so hot, last night, I swear

You couldnt hardly breathe

 Heat lightning burnt the sky like alcohol

 I sat on the porch without my shoes

 And I watched the cars roll by

 As the headlights raced

 To the corner of the kitchen wall.

Chorus

Mama dear Your boy is here

Far across the sea

Waiting for That sacred core

 That burns inside of me

 And I feel a storm

 All wet and warm

 Not ten miles away

Approaching My mexican home.

(Repeat Intro)

 My god! I cried, its so hot inside

 You could die in the living room

 Take the fan from the window

Prop the door back with a broom

 The cuckoo clock has died of shock

 And the windows feel no pane

 The airs as still As the throttle on a funeral train.

(Chorus)

(Reapeat Intro)

 My father died on the porch outside

 On an august afternoon

 I sipped bourbon and cried

 With a friend by the light of the moon

 So its hurry! hurry! step right up

 Its a matter of life or death

 The sun is going down

 And the moon is just holding its breath.

(Chorus)