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Mexicali Blues (April 12, 1978 - Durham, NC)
Grateful Dead
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๐ฌ๐ง English ยท Original
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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 tenth grade 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 thinking and drinking are all I have today
Well, she said her name was Billie 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
And 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, 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 thinking and drinking are all I have today
Well, then a man rode into town, some thought he was the law
Billie Jean was waiting when he came
And she told me he would take her, if I didn't use my gun
But 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 him first and killed him, Lord, he didn't even draw
And I spent my lifetime running with the Mexicali blues, yeah
Is there anything a man don't stand to lose
When the moon's a woman and holds him in her hands?
You just might find yourself out there on a wolf pack in the dark
Just riding and running across those desert sands
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