Borderline

In the still of the desert...
In the light of the moon...
Armando walks all alone
The river ahead holds promise and dread
And he's 900 miles from his home

He pays the Coyotes, dodges La Migra, walks for 4 hungry days
When he finally hits Austin the boom town 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 is to say it's a sin?
And he crossed himself at the borderline

He wired the dollars to Elana 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
When the desperation sets in
A man will cross any line that is drawn,
And who is to say it's a sin?
And he crossed himself at the borderline

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

7 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, your 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
When the desperation sets in
A man will cross any line that is drawn,
And who is to say it's a sin?
And he crossed himself at the borderline

In the still of the desert...
In the light of the moon...
Armando walks all alone...
The river ahead holds promise and dread...
And he's 900 miles from his home...