Lyrics

JERKY MAN

South-central Missouri, down Highway 63
I saw a rusty station wagon parked underneath a tree
I strained to read the words spray painted on the sign
“Beef jerky…a dollar eighty-nine”

Our of curiosity I pulled off to the side
Suffering from jerky lust, it cannot be denied
He took the beagle off his lap and got up from his chair
What a character, I couldn’t help but stare

Underneath that cowboy hat was a silver ponytail
His skin was desert-baked, he walked like a snail
Quite a storyteller, he cackled like a crow
Talkin’ about the jerky man from New Mexico

CHORUS:
The jerky man sells jerky made in Idaho
But he sells it in Missouri, or wherever he may go
Hot pepper, plain, honey-glazed, you just can’t say no
To the jerky man from New Mexico

He held a tray of samples, each one in a cup
He grabbed me one with tweezers, then dropped one for his pup
Cackled stories of his life back in Santa Fe
About selling jerky for a little extra pay

So I bought seven packs of the honey-glazed, eleven packs of plain
Fourteen packs of hot pepper, I must have been insane
And as I walked away we traded waves and smiles
And I ate beef jerky for the next two hundred miles

The jerky man sells jerky made in Idaho
But he sells it in Missouri, or wherever he may go
Hot pepper, plain, honey-glazed, you just can’t say no
To the jerky man from New Mexico

If you’re ever traveling down Missouri 63
And you see the desert man with the beagle on his knee
Pick me up some of that honey-glazed and say a fond hello
To the jerky man from New Mexico

The jerky man sells jerky made in Idaho
But he sells it in Missouri, or wherever he may go
Hot pepper, plain, honey-glazed, you just can’t say no
To the jerky man from New Mexico

He’s the jerky man from New Mexico
Talkin’ about the jerky man from New Mexico