Capo 3 
 
       Am           C              G            Am  
In the still of the desert, in the light of the moon 
  Am    C          Em 
Armando walks all alone 
        Am     C          G           Am 
And the river ahead holds promise and dread 
         F   Em             Am 
And he's 900 miles from his home  
   Am         C     G         Am 
He pays the coyote, dodges La Migra 
Am        C           Em 
Walks for four hungry days 
        Am           C           G           Am 
When he finally hits Austin, the boomtown is bustin' 
       F              Em         Am 
But he takes what the contractor pays  


[Refrão]
     C                  Am 
When love for family is stronger than fear 
         C                Am 
When the desperation sets in 
  C                  Am  
A man will cross any line that is drawn 
    F                   E  
And who's to say it's a sin 
       Am         C           G     Am 
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  
 
Small Mandolin break 
 
From Guadalajara come 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."  
 
Chorus  
 
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  
 
Small Mandolin break 
 
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  
 
 
Chorus  
 
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