Brownsville Girl

Well, there was this movie I seen one time

About a man riding 'cross the desert and it starred Gregory Peck

He was shot down by a hungry kid trying to make a name for himself

The townspeople wanted to crush that kid down and string him up by the neck

Well, the marshal, now he beat that kid to a bloody pulp

As the dying gunfighter lay in the sun and gasped for his last breath

"Turn him loose, let him go, let him say he outdrew me fair and square

I want him to feel what it's like to every moment face his death"

Well, I keep seeing this stuff and it just comes a-rolling in

And you know it blows right through me like a ball and chain

You know I can't believe we've lived so long and are still so far apart

The memory of you keeps calling after me like a rolling train

I can still see the day that you came to me on the painted desert

In your busted down Ford and your platform heels

I could never figure out why you chose that particular place to meet

Ah, but you were right, it was perfect as I got in behind the wheel

Well, we drove that car all night into San Anton'

And we slept near the Alamo, your skin was so tender and soft

Way down in Mexico you went out to find a doctor and you never came back

I would have gone on after you but I didn't feel like letting my head get blown off

Well, we're driving this car and the sun is coming up over the Rockies

Now I know she ain't you but she's here and she's got that dark rhythm in her soul

But I'm too over the edge and I ain't in the mood anymore to remember the times

When I was your only man

And she don't want to remind me, she knows this car would go out of control

Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls

Teeth like pearls, shining like the moon above

Brownsville girl, show me all around the world

Brownsville girl, you're my honey love

Well, we crossed the panhandle and then we headed towards Amarillo

We pulled up where Henry Porter used to live

He owned a Wrecking lot outside of town about a mile

Ruby was in the backyard hanging clothes, she had her red hair tied back

She saw us come rolling up in a trail of dust

She said, "Henry ain't here but you can come on in, he'll be back in a little while"

Then she told us how times were tough

And about how she was thinking of bumming a ride back to from where she started

But she changed the subject every time money came up

She said, "Welcome to the land of the living dead"

But you could tell she was so broken hearted

She said, "Even the swap meets around here are getting pretty corrupt"

"How far are y'all going?", Ruby asked us with a sigh

"We're going all the way till the wheels fall off and burn

Till the sun peels the paint and the seat covers fade and the water moccasin dies"

Ruby just smiled and said, "Ah, you know some babies never learn"

Something about that movie though, well, I just can't get it out of my head

But I can't remember why I was in it or what part I was supposed to play

All I remember about it was, is Gregory Peck and the way people moved

And a lot of them seemed to be looking my way

Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls

Teeth like pearls, shining like the moon above

Brownsville girl, show me all around the world

Brownsville girl, you're my honey love

Well, they were looking for somebody with a pompadour

I was crossing the street when shots rang out

I didn't know whether to duck or to run, so I ran

"We got him cornered in the churchyard," I heard somebody shout

Well, you saw my picture in the Corpus Christi Tribune

Underneath it, it said, "A man with no alibi"

You went out on a limb to testify for me, you said I was with you

Then when I saw you break down in front of the judge and cry real tears

It was the best acting I saw anybody do

Now I've always been the kind of person that doesn't like to trespass

But sometimes you just find yourself over the line

Oh, if there's an original thought out there, I could use it right now

You know, I feel pretty good, but that is not saying much

I could feel a whole lot better

If you were just here by my side to show me how

Well, I'm standing in line in the rain to see a movie starring Gregory Peck

Yeah, but you know it's not the one that I had in mind

He's got a new one out now, I don't even know what it's about

But I'll see him in anything so I'll stand in line

Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls

Teeth like pearls, shining like the moon above

Brownsville girl, show me all around the world

Brownsville girl, you're my honey love

You know, it's funny how things never turn out the way you had 'em planned

The only thing we knew for sure about Henry Porter is that his name wasn't Henry Porter

And you know there was something about you, baby, that I liked that was always too good for this world

Just like you always said there was something about me you liked, that I left in the French Quarter

Strange how people who suffer together have stronger connections than people who are most content

I don't have any regrets, they can talk about me plenty when I'm gone

You always said people don't do what they believe in, they just do what's most convenient, then they repent

And I always said, "Hang on to me, baby, and let's hope that the roof stays on"

There was a movie I seen one time, I think I sat through it twice

I don't remember who I was or where I was bound

All I remember about it was it starred Gregory Peck

He wore a gun and he was shot in the back

Seems like a long time ago, long before the stars were torn down

Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls

Teeth like pearls, shining like the moon above

Brownsville girl, show me all around the world

Brownsville girl, you're my honey love

Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls

Teeth like pearls, shining like the moon above

Brownsville girl, show me all around the world

Brownsville girl, you're my honey love

Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls

Teeth like pearls, shining like the moon above

Brownsville girl, show me all around the world