Rio Navidad

It's the 1980's at a wedding in San Antonio

A retired Texas Ranger sits down next to me and says

"What's your name?"

So I tell him, "My name's Diego"

"What kind of wetback name is that?" He asked

His teeth are yellow and he's grinnin' at me as he says this

"Man, I thought you were a Texas Ranger"

"Can't talk that way"

Again he smiles, "I can talk any way I want"

"You should know that by now"

"It's a wedding, man", "So"

He keeps lookin' at me, he's got  a grey mustache

And he starts tappin' his fist to the beat of the wedding band

"I'm serious", he says, but now he's not grinnin'

He finishes his beer and orders another

"Tell me, what kind of wetback name is it?"

The gente at the party are all havin' a good time

He starts lookin' at my cousin as she's dancin'

His fat fist keeps the tempo

There's a guy on the corner making out with a woman twice his age

And there's a barbecue going on outside

And there's free drinks, everyone's got a chela

Go I tell him my name, when I do he starts to disappear

He really does, just disappears

I say, "Pinche gavacho pavoso"

"You know it's a fucking name you're too stupid to pronounce

It's a name that you can never change

In a way it's just as American as yours

You probably don't even know

About the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

You know come to think it, the border crossed me

I didn't cross it and if you really wanna think about it

You're the wet back comin' across the Atlantic

You know it's a name that can fucking kick your ass

It's a name that women love

Like a song that had melody

It's who I've become, I've finally grown into my name

Which'll live forever, like a song, it has melody"