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Happy Homestead
12 songs on the paradox of the human condition... ...and a waltz

Alejandro

Alejandro don't you walk into the desert tonight
Begged his wife the night he wanted to go
The road is strewn with signs of those who tried before you
Maybe this time make it out of Mexico

Well he heard life is better just north of the fence
Must be better than the dust of his hometown
Trade his country and his past to work so hard in the fields
With wages low just because his skin is brown

A dozen men strong all gathered round to go north
They paid a man who dropped them in the Organ Pipe
Said just north of here's the work that pays the wages you seek
With that hope they put their faith in one man's hype

The never ending sun heats up Sonoran desert dry
Hope against all odds this hell will be a memory soon gone by
Thought the answers to their prayers aligned with clear blue U.S. skies
The coyote headed south, his pockets lined with lies

Alejandro don't you walk into the desert tonight
Begged his wife the night he wanted to go
The road is strewn with signs of those who tried before you
Maybe this time make it out of Mexico

©2008 Gary Mackender, ASCAP


Gary Mackender: accordion, drums, bass, backup vocal
Danny Krieger: guitar
Nancy McCallion: acoustic guitar, backup vocal
Dante Rosano: trumpet
Catherine Zavala: lead and backup vocal, mandolin

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