British singer-songwriter Chris Rea is something of a Trivial Pursuit question on the current pop music landscape, but his popularity in these precincts endures because of this cut, drawn from his critically-acclaimed 1989 album, The Road To Hell (which allmusic.com called "a modern masterpiece."). "Texas" perfectly captures the combination of curiosity and incredulity that typically assails first-time visitors when confronted with the massive admixture of size, cultures, history and contradictions that are embodied in the Lone Star State. Or, as Rea sings to his paramour when announcing their impending relocation: "I said 'Texas'…She says 'What'?" Never mind, he assures her, she'll love it: "Warm winds blowin'/Heat and blue skies/And a road that goes forever…" With its lazy, loping beat, sinuous slide guitar and dreamscape imagery, this "Texas" is indeed a state of mind.