Down along the railroad track
I ran into my old friend Jack
He was dressed in his Sunday best
But his face was red and his eyes were dead
He said, "I lost Marina
"And the last place that I seen her
"She was makin' off with my best friend."
I took him to the water
I spent $50
On something that would take him to the moon
Well, he must have gone to heaven
'Cause just before I left him
I tried to wake him up, but he wouldn't move
So come on Carmelita
You drank too much and I can see that
Soon you're gonna need a breath of air
We'll dance across the wheat fields
There's a place I know just east of here
And it wouldn't take too long to go down there
We'll sleep out on the ground, and in the morning when we wake up
We'll leave town
Well, I picked my last tobacco leaf
Soaking wet up to my knees
Out there before the sun is on the rise
You can have a drink of water
But don't you look at my daughter
Or I'll come down there and I'll cut you with this knife
So come on Carmelita
You drank too much and I can see that
Soon you're gonna need a breath of air
We'll dance across the wheat fields
There's a place I know just east of here
And it wouldn't take too long to go down there
We'll sleep out on the ground, and in the morning when we wake up
We'll leave town
There ain't any flack, man
But if you're a black man
They'll put you on a plane back to where you're from
So come on Carmelita...