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Talking about heading home to Texas, I think Pat Green does a good job of capturing the feeling with these songs ...

"Songs About Texas" " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"Southbound 35" " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Texas Size 11 wrote:It is the only state I have lived in that still has that has an actual independent feeling about it. It's Texas and we'll do it our way and the rest of you all go somewhere lese if you don't like it.

People here are incredibly friendly.

Singing "Deep in the Heart of Texas" during Rangers games.

People here have pride in their State.

It's diverse.

I cannot think of one thing that I don't like...

So far this list is closest to my own, especially the parts about friendly and independent people who have pride in their state.

I'd add that Texas also has a sort of mythical, mystical quality to it that is the stuff of legends. Tall tales, of course. But beyond the "exaggerations" there is really an underlying spirit in this state and in the people of this state that is unmatched in any other part of this country. Texas and Texans "seem" bigger and better because in many ways we are bigger and better. The comment earlier about wide open spaces is spot on. It seems like a tall tale, but it's absolutely true: in El Paso you're closer to the Pacific Ocean than you are to the Texas-Louisiana border, and vice versa on the Louisiana border you're closer to the Atlantic Ocean than you are to El Paso. Dallas is closer to Chicago than it is to Brownsville. See what I mean? It sounds mythical, but it's a verifiable fact. I think in some part because of this geographic largesse, the people of Texas feel a sense of obligation to live their lives "bigger and better" than the rest. The entrepreneurial spirit in this state is staggering, rivaled probably only by California (which prefers to entrepreneur with YOUR money, of course).

I was born in Austin, raised in Houston, then traveled the state on the "newspaper" circuit for 10-plus years (Georgetown, Pasadena, Texas City, College Station, San Antonio) and finally back to Cedar Park/Austin. For a while in my 20s I thought the promise of bigger/better newspapers in places with cooler climates would lure me away. But it never did. At this point, I can't imagine myself ever leaving. Only part I truly dislike is the extremely hot summers, but even that is bearable with AC

I also LOVE Texas music and Texas-themed songs - like the Gary P Nunn song linked earlier. I think Robert Earl Keen is grossly under-rated as a singer/songwriter. Love Willie, Waylon, and the boys. Gruene Hall, Floore's Country Store, Billy Bob's, The Backyard.

I think a field of bluebonnets under a giant Texas sunset is the closest any of us mere mortals will get to seeing God smile .... on Earth as it is in Texas ....

and bumper stickers and slogans! Love 'em!

Remember the Alamo
Come And Take It
You can all go to (heck), I'm going to Texas
NATIVE TEXAN
I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could.
Don't Mess With Texas
Keep Austin Weird (and the corollary - Pflugerville: Between a Rock and a Weird place)

And we have the best looking flag of any state - only flag better looking is the Stars and Stripes themselves

I love the German heritage in Central Texas ... and the beer brewing knowledge

And TEXAS BARBECUE!!!!! No other type of barbecue will cross my lips. Foreigners can keep their pulled pork, ribs & chicken smothered in sweet sauce, etc. I'll take a well-rubbed brisket slow smoked over oak and pecan for 12 hours ANY DAY. I'm such a xenophobe when it comes to barbecue, I can't even really eat much of what comes out of DFW and Houston (too "Yankee" tasting to me) ... it's gotta be Central Texas slow-smoked brisket, sausage, and ribs ..... Smitty's in Lockhart, Cooper's in Llano, the Salt Lick in Driftwood, the original Rudy's in Leon Springs (wow, I'm gettin' hungry )

So many other aspects - the diversity of not only the people but also the geography and climate - can be snowing in Amarillo while people are wading in 80-degree beach water in Padre. And the diversity of natural resources, hunting game etc. All linked by the best and most well-maintained highway system in the world.

So much more, but need to get back to work ..... Texas high school and college football, college baseball, rodeos, sittin' on a boat in the middle of Lake Travis drinkin' a can of beer without a care in the world, fishing in Galveston Bay, cedar-post fences, barbed wire fences, finding a shady parking space under a live oak tree, cool breezes on warm summer nights sitting on a porch swing, white cotton shirts - dirty and soft for real work, starched and clean for city work and dance halls ....

canvasbck wrote:

Carry-a-Kimber wrote:I think one of my favorite adopted Texans said it best in song.
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Here's one by a native Texan, with a pretty neat slideshow. This song popped into my head as soon as I read the thread title.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGukLuXzH1E

Nothing against Jerry Jeff, but give me the Gary P. Nunn version any time.