Red Shadows - Kasey Anderson

I met Luis Ramirez

On the streets of Veracruz

Chasin' shadows down the alley

Pinning medals on our shoes

We grew up and worked together

In the hillsides and the fields

'Til the citrus dried

And the coffee prices fell

Jobs started moving north

'Til there was no work left to find

Luis said he knew somebody

Who could help us cross the line

So we met with Don Garcia

And took out our loans

That night we danced and drank like morning wouldn’t come

A bus took us to the border

Where together we crossed the wire

But we lost sight of the coyote

As the white Sonoran sun began to rise

Through the canyons and arroyos

We made our way west

The wind swept across the dirt

And erased our steps

It was out on devil’s highway

Where the heat turns your sweat to paste

Luis fell 'neath the red shadows

Of the lost souls who haunt this place

He took the money from his pocket

Put his hand in mine

And said, «brother, I’ll meet you on the other side»

Down on the desert floor

His eyes the color of rust

Luis lay dying

His blood mixing with the dust

I held his hand 'til he stopped breathing

Whispered grace into his hear

But out there in desolation

You need a different kind of prayer

So I crossed in to Yuma county

Through the burning mesquite trees

In every buzzard’s laugh

I swore I heard Luis

Now there’s a bar on south magnolia

Where I spend what I don’t need

Buying drinks with the gavachos

With my brothers from the fields

We passed through the dead and dying

Across dried bones and dusted dreams

My friend, you don’t forget

The way that hunger feels

Tonight the Yuma sky is endless

And the water is cool and green

I close my eyes

And let the darkness swallow me