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 thinking and drinking 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 paying 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
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 he lets a woman hold him in her hands
He just might find himself out there on horseback in the dark
Just riding and running across those desert sands
