Laid back in an old saloon, with a peso in my hand,
Watchin� 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 payin� dues.
So instead i�ve got a bottle and a girl who�s just fourteen,
And a damn good case of the mexicali blues. yeh!
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 waitin� 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.
Is there anything a man don�t stand to lose
When he lets a woman hold him in her hands?
He just might find himself out there on horseback in the dark
Just ridin� and runnin� across those desert sands.