Matthew
Tyler Childers Lyrics

Works the night shift at the depot
A man is working the graveyard shift at a train station

With a pistol and a light
He patrols the area during his shift with a gun and a flashlight

And he guards them rusted missiles
He is in charge of protecting old missiles that are stored there

Countin' whitetail to pass the time
To alleviate boredom, he counts the number of deer that pass by

And he's worked there for a long while
He has been employed at the depot for a significant amount of time

Since he came home from overseas
He started working there after coming back from serving in the military abroad

Helpin' Kilcorn fight the good fight
While overseas, he fought alongside someone named Kilcorn for a just cause

And bring Baghdad to its knees
They were involved in the military action that led to the fall of Baghdad

And it was hotter than the mountain
The weather was extremely hot

But it weren't so he couldn't stand
Despite the heat, he was still able to handle it

And it weren't so much the heat wave
The intense heat wasn't the main issue at hand

Nearly as much as all the sand
The abundance of sand was a more significant problem

Now his daddy, he's a lockman
His father works as a lock specialist

With a good leg and a fake
One of his dad's legs is prosthetic, but he still gets by well

That he got off of a buddy
The leg was given to his father by a friend

And a shitshot that he made
His dad is also an accomplished marksman who makes homemade ammunition

And he worked them hands to splinters
His dad has worked himself to the point of causing serious damage to his hands

And he raised them youngins right
He has raised his children with proper values and ethics

On a little bit of scripture
His father has instilled religious teachings into their upbringing

And an acreage of paradise
The family lives on a piece of land that provides them with a comfortable, idyllic life

And he'd go out on the weekends
His dad enjoys going out on his days off

And he played like Clarence White
He is a skilled guitar player comparable to the famous Clarence White

Clarence, but had a real job
However, unlike Clarence White, his dad has a regular job as his main source of income

Picked the guitar when there was time
He only has time to play guitar during his free moments

Keeps a trap line in the winter
During the winter, he has a line of traps set up to catch animals

Keeps a line wet in the spring
In the spring, he keeps a fishing line in the water to catch fish

On a lock wall fishin' muskie
He enjoys fishing for the muskie fish in the area's lock walls with his son and friend Steve

With his eldest and Steve
His oldest child is often present with him and Steve while fishing

And they swap tales about their raisin'
During their fishing trips, they often discuss stories about their respective upbringings

And they tell the office lies
They also share humorous lies or embellishments about their work and office lives

And they go home when they've the notion
They end their fishing trips and go home whenever they feel like it

And the muskie quit bitin'
When the muskie fish stop biting, they know it's time to call it a day