Bob Weir - Mexicali Blues lyrics

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 k**ed 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