Winding through the hills on the road to Madrid,
The jeeps and vans came to a stop;
The morning sun had just begun
To warm the mountain tops.

Then out came the police and a hundred guns,
And three hooded, defiant young men;
The priest was there, but nobody cared,
They were following orders again.

CHORUS:

José Humberto, you had such crazy dreams,
José Luis, open your eyes!
And, Ramón, look what’s become of you;
You had nothing to lost but your life,
Oh, you had nothing to lose but your life.

España was never a poster for you
With flamenco dancing and wine
It was filled with pain and the dark red stain
Of condemned men marching in line.

CHORUS

You’d be happy to know there were riots in Rome
And mobs in Belgium and France;
But in Washington, as you were shot in the sun,
A new treaty was signed for more guns and more mines,
To give Spanish Fascism a chance,
After all, executions have such romance.

CHORUS

Well, I feel like I’m slippin’ into hell to the sound of a rebel yell;
I only want to be a Union hero,
Most decorated man at the Battle of Shiloh;
But I had to get shot in the knee,
And, as the doctor said to me,
“If the pain don’t kill you, boy, it’ll be the gangrene.”

Daddy, Daddy, won’t you buy me a gun,
I don’t need a new jacket or a pair of boots;
There are rabbits in the spring and turkeys in the fall,
There are so many things that I can learn to shoot.

Mama, Mama, gonna leave you for a while,
Are you sure my uniform’s clean?
I’ll write you aletter and send you a flag,
I’m gonna be the best soldier Mr. Lincoln’s ever seen.

CHORUS

Captain, Captain, won’t you let me up front,
This Pennsylvania boy’s got eyes like a cat;
I’ve hunted ‘possum and ‘coon and white-tailed deer,
I know I can show you where those rebels are at.

Darlin’, Darlin’, had the craziest dream,
The war was over, everybody wore green;
Do you think I’m getting better like you said I would,
Or do you think I took a little too much morphine?

CHORUS

One evenin’ feelin’ kinda low,
I took the bus to Ohio;
To see my brother play in a band at a Holiday Inn;
And I asked to sit next to this man,
And he winked and said, “Sure you can,”
I took the window seat, and I settled down next to him.

He said he was an ex-Marine, the saddest one I’d ever seen,
And he was goin’ home to see his Zanesville girl;
And ridin’ through Indiana corn, he said he felt so torn,
Between lovin’ her and goin’ back to L.A. He said . . .

CHORUS

“She don’t exactly treat me right/
He don’t exactly treat me right, or
We treated each other right
But/’cause sometimes very late at night,
You know how you need somebody,
You know how you need somebody.”

And I said I was a secretary,
And I never would get married;
And I shared the peaches that I brought along for the ride;
And feelin’ outta danger, I said a think I’d only tell a stranger,
How a man can lie, but you never want to leave his side. Because . . .

CHORUS

And he said if we lived on that farm,
He’d take me in his arms;
And we’d run through the corn to the house when the sun went down;
And ridin’ on the bus that night,
We treated each other right;
But those evenin’ dreams soon disappeared without a sound. You know . . .

CHORUS

I met you at the two-dollar window,
At the races on a day in July;
And I could tell you were a regular winner,
By the crazy look you had in your eye.

We watched the horses from the railing,
Holdin’ hands and drinkin’ warm beer;
And you said you had horses in Tennessee,
And we should meet at the Derby next year.

CHORUS:

Just give me some southern comfort,
Give me just a little taste;
Just give me some southern comfort,
Don’t let a drop go to waste.

We both bet on a horse named Diablo,
‘Case you dreamed about the devil last night;
And we both lost ten dollars at the wire,
But a Tennessee angel treated me right.

CHORUS

The day you left we sat in your pickup,
Losin’ tickets all over the floor;
I was finishing out of the money,
Just my own faded smile to show.

CHORUS

Movin’ and groovin’ at the deli,
Not exactly sure what I want;
Standin’ at the counter, starin’ through the glass,
Corned beef is nice, but it ain’t got no class.

Chewin’ on a Kosher dill pickle,
Still not sure what I want;
When I spot it over there, lyin’ on a plate,
My stomach’s empty, but I sure feel great.

CHORUS:

Gimme a tongue sandwich
Plenty of mustard, plenty of meat;
On rye bread
Take one bite, it can’t be beat.

Walkin’ down the street feelin’ great,
But something is not quite right;
I run back to the deli, say, “Hit me once more,”
I throw back my head and let out this roar.

CHORUS

I get back to my apartment
My baby says he’ll make me a snack;
As he comes from the kitchen, I can smell what is comin’,
My baby knows what keeps my motor runnin’.

CHORUS

Just outta Jackson, headin’ for Nashville,
‘Cause I’m gonna be a country star, too;
When the axel started breakin’ and the van started shakin’,
We pulled off on Highway 22.

Well, the gas station guy said we’d have to wait till mornin’,
‘Cause the only mechanic’s gone home;
So we bought Vienna sausage and cold, canned beans,
‘Cause the all-night café was closed.

CHORUS:

We’re stuck here on Interstate 40,
We’re stuck, and it’s a damn dry county;
We’re stuck, guess we’ll be here till we’re 80,
Guess we just ran out of our Tennessee luck.

When the mechanic came by in the hot foggy mornin’
Scartched his head and didn’t know what to do;
“But there’s a boy down the road I think can maybe help you,
He’ll come by tomorrow afternoon.”

Now lucky for us there’s Deena’s little diner,
With grits and lemon ice box pie,
‘Cause we’ll be here for a while slappin’ flies and drinkin’ coffee,
And at night we’re gonna try to get high.

CHORUS

Well, I wouldn’t mind if a trucker bought us liquor,
We could sit in his cab getting’ stoned;
But they just pull in for gas, then pull their rigs out fast,
Ain’t a place they want to hang around.

One night up drove a Tennessee state trooper,
Everybody had to hide the beer;
And they all listed to the singin’ and the gas pumps dingin’
And they said, “Y’all come back now, y’hear!”

CHORUS

CHORUS:

You been kickin’ around in these alleys so long,
Don’t it get lonely out there?
I could scratch your head,
I could sing you a song;
Don’t you want someone to care?

Stray dog, stray dog,
Don’t you need someone to talk to?
Stray dog, stray dog,
I’m a stray like you.

CHORUS

CHORUS:

I feel you slippin’ through my finger,
And maybe that’s the way it has to be;
But let’s stop the car right here,
Have another cup of coffee,
And tell me why you’re breakin’ up with me.

I thought vacation was what we really needed,
Away from housework and the kids, we could unwind;
But I see it’s much, much more,
And I can’t stand this cold, cold war;
Won’t you open up and say what’s on your mind.

CHORUS

As I watch you put sugar in your coffee,
You’re a stranger to me now it’s plain to see;
You clear your voice to speak,
And then something makes you weak,
Oh, darlin’, won’t you please look up at me.

CHORUS

CHORUS:

So many times wrong, few times right;
To be thinkin’ of callin’ you up again tonight;
But I’m sittin’ here stood up again on a Saturday night.

You were just a fantasy,
Never very real to me at all;
But I’m wrapped up in the time you were mine
Before the fall.

CHORUS

I was born in Tucumcari, wen to school in T or C,
My folks moved to Artesia, so I hitched to the Duke City;
Did some gamblin’ in Portales, Santa Rosa, and Raton,
Met a man in Bernalillo, ran away to Farmington.

Got picked up in Tularosa by a long-hair from Socorro,
Had some Coors in Alamagordo, slept it off in Espanola.

CHORUS:

I’m a New Mexico road-runnin, fun-lovin, six-gunnin’,
I’m a New Mexico road-runnin’ fool.

Drank tequila in Plactias with a Roswell friend of mine,
Met some bikers down at Okie’s,* had ourselves a real good time;
Took the scenic route by Elephant Butte and saw old Smokey’s grave,**
Hitchhiked back to Taos, went down to Carlsbad to see their cave.

CHORUS

Took a class down in Las Cruces, dropped out and went to Hobbs,
Got tired of Silver City, went to Belen to do odd jobs;
Got arrested in Clines Corners for a check I passed in Grants;
Posted bond and skipped to Clovis, I escaped with just my pants.

CHORUS

While crashing in Corrales, a Clayton cowboy said,
“If you’ve seen so much of New Mexico, Buddy, how come you ain’t dead?”

CHORUS

* Okie’s was a rough bar in Albuquerque. It’s now closed.
** Smokey the Bear was found in Lincoln Forest and is now buried in Capitan, New Mexico