Clearing the smoke behind the joint that inspired Robert Earl Keen’s ‘Barbeque’ anthem

The ode to barbecue has long graced many a cookout playlist. But finding the place that inspired the song took a bit of sleuthing.

By Casey CheekDecember 18, 2025 9:45 am, , ,

Many a Texan can finish Robert Earl Keen’s ode to barbecue by heart, but far fewer could tell you about the place that actually inspired this anthem to the official state meal of Texas.

Daniel Vaughn, barbecue editor for Texas Monthly, recently wanted to get to the bottom of this musical mystery. He joined the Standard with his findings. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.

This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:

Texas Standard: You write that for the uninitiated, it might sound like the perfect order at your favorite smoked meat counter. How does that line go? 

Daniel Vaughn: Barbecue, sliced beef and bread…”

Yeah, right there. You got it all. You’ve got a Texas-born sugary drink, you’ve got a slice of fluffy white bread, and you’ve the main event, that brisket or sausage.

You know, what I was thinking was when you make your way around the state looking for the next great Texas barbecue joint, I would guess this has been something of a soundtrack for you, no?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean the “Barbeque” song from Robert Earl Keen is on many a playlist – certainly on my barbecue road trip playlist.

I think a lot of places might qualify as the inspiration for this song. I mean, I’m sure a lot would like to claim to be the inspiration.

But I gather you went straight to the horse’s mouth, so to speak. You wanted to talk to Robert Earl Keen, himself. Do you know him personally or what?

I don’t know him personally. I’ve certainly spoken with him for interviews and I’ve met him a couple of times at different barbecue festivals, but it’s not like I have his phone number or anything.

But I was curious, like, you know, is this common order that you can really get anywhere in the state? Was he writing the song about just any old barbecue joint or was there somewhere specific that he had in mind?

So I had to ask him and I was really surprised to learn that there was a specific spot. It was in Sealy, Texas. It was a place that he visited back in the ’60s.

And the thing is, though, he couldn’t remember the name of it. He described where it was and what it looked like and what they served. And the folks at the Sealy Historical Society did the rest.

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Wow, so you went to talk to the Sealy Historical Society after this. What did you find?

Well, they said that they were pretty certain it was Clifton Lee Thomas’ barbecue joint.

So he ran a spot named Thomas Barbecue with his wife Josephine on the north side of Sealy. And they got me in contact with Clifton Lee’s – or they called him “C.L.” – C. L. Thomas’ granddaughters, Nancie and Debra Thomas.

Well, let me stop you there. So you mean Thomas’ isn’t around anymore?

Thomas’ is not around anymore. It’s an empty patch on a corner in the north-south Sealy. Yeah, there’s no barbecue pit left anymore. You can see sort of an outline of where there were some bricks laid, but nothing is left.

But you went and talked to some family members. And again, who was it? Was it his daughter or granddaughter or what?

That was his granddaughters, Nancie and Debra Thomas.

Nancie though, she does have something left from the barbecue joint, and that is the barbecue sauce recipe. So I was able to coerce her to go ahead and make up a batch and sell me a half-gallon jug of it.

Oh, that is so cool. So this is the original taste that R.E.K. was talking about back in the day.

Yeah, that’s right. And, you know, he really described that menu. And when I talked to C.L. Thomas’ granddaugthers, you know, they said, yeah, absolutely. That was the menu. And there was a cooler there filled with Big Red.

Did his granddaughters have anything to say about the song? Had they put together that maybe the song “Barbeque” was connected to the grandfather?

You know, with apologies to Robert Earl Keen, they had never heard the song. They didn’t really know what I was talking about when I first contacted them.

But, you know, by the time I met up with them, they’d familiarized themselves with it and they were certainly tickled by it.

Well tell us a little bit about that sauce. I would think that would be a little bit of an out-of-body experience, to sort of be making all of these connections in your mind as you’re tasting this sauce.

And of course barbecue is more than just about the sauce, but I understand he would use this on the chickens and stuff he’d roast or what?

Oh yeah. I mean, this was certainly an important part of the barbecue menu there at Thomas Barbecue.

So yeah, when I came back home with it, first of all, it was perfect because it was just a reused milk jug filled with barbecue sauce and an index card with the “Thomas Barbecue” label taped on it with packaging tape. And so I came home and I used it on some grilled chicken.

And it was fantastic. It was your basic barbecue sauce – tomato-based and a little sweet, a little savory, not too strong in any one direction but just worked perfect on grilled meats.

Was there a secret ingredient from what you can tell?

Well, I know there was some dairy in it because I’m guessing it was butter as one of those ingredients that’s often in homemade barbecue sauces that doesn’t really translate to commercial sauces because it keeps that sauce from being shelf-stable.

So butter is one of those things that’s usually taken out of those ones you can get off the store shelves.

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