The Grateful Dead - Mexicali Blues lyrics
[The Grateful Dead - Mexicali Blues lyrics]
Laid back in an old saloon
With a peso in my hand
Watching flies and children on the street
And I catch a glimpse of black-eyed
Girls who giggle when I smile
There's a little boy who wants
To shine my feet
And it's three days ride from Bakersfield and
I don't know why I came
I guess I came to keep from paying dues
So instead I've got a bottle and
A girl who's just fourteen
And a damn good case of the Mexicali blues
Yeah
Is there anything a man don't stand to lose?
When the devil wants to take it all away?
Cherish well your thoughts
And keep a tight grip on your booze
Cause thinkin' and drinkin' are
All I have today
She said her name was Billy Jean
And she was fresh in town
I didn't know a stage line ran from Hell
She had raven hair, a ruffled dress
A necklace made of gold
All the French perfume you'd care to smell
She took me up into her room
And whispered in my ear
"Go on, my friend, do anything you choose"
Now I'm payin' for those happy hours
I spent there in her arms
With a lifetime's worth of the Mexicali Blues
Is there anything a man don't stand to lose?
When the devil wants to take it all away?
Cherish well your thoughts
And keep a tight grip on your booze
Cause thinkin' and drinkin' are
All I have today
And then a man rode into town
Some thought he was the law
Billy Jean was waiting when he came
She told me he would take her
If I didn't use my gun
I'd have no one but myself to blame
I went down to those dusty streets
Blood was on my mind
I guess that stranger hadn't heard the news
Cause I shot first and killed him, Lord
He didn't even draw and he made me trade the
Gallows for the Mexicali Blues yeah
Is there anything a man don't stand to lose?
When the devil wants to take it all away?
Cherish well your thoughts
And keep a tight grip on your booze
Cause thinkin' and drinkin' are
All I have today
With a peso in my hand
Watching flies and children on the street
And I catch a glimpse of black-eyed
Girls who giggle when I smile
There's a little boy who wants
To shine my feet
And it's three days ride from Bakersfield and
I don't know why I came
I guess I came to keep from paying dues
So instead I've got a bottle and
A girl who's just fourteen
And a damn good case of the Mexicali blues
Yeah
Is there anything a man don't stand to lose?
When the devil wants to take it all away?
Cherish well your thoughts
And keep a tight grip on your booze
Cause thinkin' and drinkin' are
All I have today
She said her name was Billy Jean
And she was fresh in town
I didn't know a stage line ran from Hell
She had raven hair, a ruffled dress
A necklace made of gold
All the French perfume you'd care to smell
She took me up into her room
And whispered in my ear
"Go on, my friend, do anything you choose"
Now I'm payin' for those happy hours
I spent there in her arms
With a lifetime's worth of the Mexicali Blues
Is there anything a man don't stand to lose?
When the devil wants to take it all away?
Cherish well your thoughts
And keep a tight grip on your booze
Cause thinkin' and drinkin' are
All I have today
And then a man rode into town
Some thought he was the law
Billy Jean was waiting when he came
She told me he would take her
If I didn't use my gun
I'd have no one but myself to blame
I went down to those dusty streets
Blood was on my mind
I guess that stranger hadn't heard the news
Cause I shot first and killed him, Lord
He didn't even draw and he made me trade the
Gallows for the Mexicali Blues yeah
Is there anything a man don't stand to lose?
When the devil wants to take it all away?
Cherish well your thoughts
And keep a tight grip on your booze
Cause thinkin' and drinkin' are
All I have today