Grateful Dead - Mexicali blues

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.