Slaid Cleaves

Borderline Lyrics



Borderline



In the still of the desert, in the light of the moon

Armando walks all alone

And the river ahead holds promise and dread

And he's 900 miles from his home



He pays the coyotes, dodges la migra

Walks for four hungry days

When he finally hits Austin, the boomtown is bustin'

But he takes what the contractor pays



When love for family is stronger than fear

When the desperation sets in

A man will cross any line that is drawn

And who's to say it's a sin?

And he crossed himself at the borderline



He wired the dollars to Elena back home

As he roomed with 10 desperate men

When the builders had enough, the INS cuffed him

And it's back to the border again



A tearful reunion with family and friends

But soon the reality sets in

There's no work to be found in the dry desert ground

He must head for Estados again



From Guadalajara came a man with no name

He said, "You can have all that you need

There's no contract to sign but the terms are your life

If you take my money and seed."



When love for family is stronger than fear…



Payments were made, the seed it was sown

Armando watched the crop grow

Even his brother-in-law, in the army

Was in on the plan from the go



Seven months gone, and the crop's gathered in

But the brother has a plan of his own

He orders a raid, the army invades

And he takes what the village has grown



In from the west came the man with no name

He said someone must pay with their life

We know your brothers, your father and mother

Your children, your sister, your wife



Now we cannot touch your sister's young husband

Tu Cunao is a military man

But you can decide who lives and who dies

And he placed the gun in his hand



When love for family is stronger than fear…