Straight Up   I liked my dads' 1956 hat brim turned up sharp from his ears You know almost flat slapped up against the crown It was a yellow straw that gave him a wild look Against that starched white shirt and his skin was brown   I don't remember what happened to that old hat But I know I spent a lot of time trying to make mine look like it I think mamma still has a picture of him somewhere He's sittin' on the porch making a face like he's having a fit   Later on he was working for Mr. Guenther and had a fall The lord took him and we cried about it for days Mamma did eventually remarry another man, so we moved I was finishing up high school going through a phase   Then I was day working ranches and learning a trade Some of the guys would make fun of my style of hat brim But I didn't care cause it's how my daddy wore his And I was just trying to look like him   Well, my brother always said I looked more like a circus clown And I'd get red necked mad and try to whail him good Sometimes we did cause a ruckus wrestling to the ground We would knock on each other like we was chopping wood   Then we'd sit up and laugh out loud like two crazy people Nowadays we just do the laughing part, no reason for being mad But I still do remember that hat and enjoy seeing the styles From the huge ten gallons to the flat crowned straight brim fad

©Steve Dirksen