My uncle died in a fire on his birthday
Redneck that he was, burning trash in the yard one day
On the pile he threw an aerosol can of spray
And that's how he died in the fire that day
Before he retired he was a truck driver
He'd be gone through the winters and all through the summers
In the winters us kids would order dominoes and watch happy days
And in the summer we get frogs at the pond and fry up their legs
My aunt still lives there out in ohio
I visit her and the autumn air, she makes me smile
We remember the story of when I was young
Getting stung by a hornet, she caressed my foot,
Rubbed baking powder on it
I was probably five at their home in Nevarre
My cousin's friend was in the yard playing guitar
We all gathered round, listened to her play and sing
And I fell into a trance and knew that one day I'd do the same thing
My uncle died in a fire on his birthday
Out by the barn and his old collection of cars
Third degree burns, a charred up shovel near his hand
My uncle died a respected man
I flew out there, I went to his funeral
It was stormy that day, the sky was deep purple
And babies were crying, kentucky fried chicken was served
And that's how he would have wanted it I'm sure
And after the funeral out there in Nevarre,
They all gathered round when I picked up a guitar
They fell into a trance as I sang and I played
And outside the frogs croaked and the mantises prayed