cisco clifton s fillin station

Johnny Cash

Cisco Clifton had a fillin' station about a mile and a half from town
Most cars passed unless they were out of gas so Cisco was always around
Regular gas was all that it sold except tabacco matches and oil
Other than that he fixed lots of flats keepin' Cisco rough hands soiled
He'd wipe the gas and check the air in a hundred times a day
He patiently gave directions on how to get to the state highway
Usually he'd give 'em water or a tyre or two some air
And once a big black Cadillac spent seven dollars there
He'd give anybody anything they'd ask and lend anything he had
His tools are tyres bumperjacks or wire to the good ones or the bad
In wintertime there was a depot stove and a table for a checker game
And every mornin' at sunup the same checker players came
So Cisco Clifton's fillin' station was always in the red
Personal loans were personally gone but never a word was said
One mornin' at eight them checker players heard a big bulldozer roar like a freight
And Cisco said I hope my kids stay fed when they build that Interstate
He'd managed to pay for property where his little fillin' station sat
And friends still came for checker game so Cisco settled for that
He wouldn't say so but Cisco knew that the Interstate was too much to fight
But to keep his will and to pay his bills he did odd jobs at night
He still opened up at sunrise and the checker game went on
The cars flew past on hightest gas and the neighbors had sold out and gone
If a car ever did go by he was lost and if they stopped they were treated the same
So at Cisco Clifton's fillin' station there's a howdy and a checker game