Growin' up in the sandhills of south Texas
We never got much snow
Although I can recall one time it snowed
Many years ago
And on the TV I could see other kids
Throwin' snowballs, buildin' snowmen
And as a kid, I felt sorry for myself
Wished I could be like them
Well, I went and asked my daddy
You think it's ever gonna snow?
He looked me, a little sad, it seemed
And said, Well, he didn't know
Anything is possible, he said,
If it's cold enough, it can
But I'll tell you what son, next time it rains
We'll build a sandhill snowman
And boy, I'll tell you, I prayed for it to rain
I prayed it hard and simple,
I prayed it clear and I prayed it plain,
For just a little sprinkle
We didn't have a white Christmas that year,
But we had it good and wet
The rain fell hard and a blue norther moaned
And that's as white as it could get
Christmas afternoon I said, I know it's cold,
But Daddy, if you can
Can we go outside so you can show me how to make
That sandhill snowman
So out we went and he scooped a little sand
Molded it into a ball
He put it on the ground and kept packin' on the dirt
Leaves, and twigs, and all
Then he made another and put it on the top
Then another, smaller still
With a stick he drew a little face on it
And said, Now make a big one, if you will
Ain't nothing but wet sand for miles around
He said, with a little smile
Scoop it up and pack it as much as you want
But it might take you awhile
And that's what I did, and it took me all day
Until the night was comin' on
He called for me to come in for some supper
When the sun was almost gone
I said, Daddy, look at the snowman I made
I did it just like you said
And he looked at me for a long minute
And slowly shook his head
I was covered with mud from head to toe
He said, I can't tell you two apart!
That sandhill snowman was as tall as me
I said, I reckon it's a start!
With an old straw hat on top of its head
A little tuft of hay for its hair
Two big acorns were its eyes
And its ears were prickly pear
He said, If that don't beat all!
Man alive! Let me tell ya what I mean!
That's got to be the best and the biggest
Sandhill snowman I've ever seen!
