SMALL-TOWN FAMOUS

Small-town famous, everybody knows
Who missed church and who changed clothes
No gold record, just a name folks claim
Around here, we're small-town famous

Miss Betty knows when your truck drove by
Coach knows why you got home at five
Barber knows what your new job pays
Your aunt knows first before you get engaged
Gas-station clerk saw the flowers you bought
Mailman knows when the bank says stop
You can't sneeze without three “Bless yous”
And somebody calling your mama with news
I used to hate how the grapevine ran
Dreamed of a city where nobody gave a damn
Then my tire blew out by Miller's grain
Five cars stopped before I knew their names

They know your trouble
They know your truck
They know when you're lying
And when you're stuck

Small-town famous, everybody knows
Who missed church and who changed clothes
No gold record, just a name folks claim
Around here, we're small-town famous

When Daddy got sick, the freezer filled
Nobody asked, they just paid that bill
Betty brought soup, Coach cut the grass
Barber closed early and drove us back
That's when gossip changed its sound
Same fast mouths gathered all around
A town can talk till your ears go numb
But when life gets heavy, those talkers come
Now when young Eli says he's leaving town
I tell him, “Go — let the world come around”
But keep one number from the old café
Fame ain't much, but they'll come when you say

Privacy is precious.
But so is being missed
before anybody knows
you need finding.

Small-town famous, everybody knows
Who needs help before it shows
No gold record, just a name folks claim
Thank God we're small-town famous

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