I crossed the Mississippi, 
 turned south at San Antone 
 bowie knife, a woolen coat,
 a grip bag on my arm
 It's all somebody needs to make it through the land 
 Walk the night, travel light, cross the Rio Grande
 Someone [bad word] a mandolin, soft gulf breezes blow
 My new life is waiting in old Mexico

 I was once a married man livin' peacefully 
 Hard to say exactly when the devil blinded me 
 But there was some confusion when my sweet
 wife left this world 
 Darker times, [bad word] crimes,
 a dead young working girl 
 Left a jailer there in Caroline, 
 watching me from down below
 My new life is waiting in old Mexico

 Livin' in the shadows 
 [bad word] #39; from my fame
 Blowin' where the wind blows
 Where no one knows my name

 In the El Vaquero Bar in the town of Eagle Pass 
 Moments from my freedom warm whiskey in my glass
 Some boracho took me for the man who stole his wife
 He went for his forty-four as I reached for my knife 
 He never fired a second shot he was just too slow
 My new life is waiting in old Mexico

 I hear of hidden harbors south of Mazatlan 
 Where cool spring mountain waters 
 meet the warm Pacific sun
 I pray the miles I've traveled and all the sins I bear 
 Burn away like mornin' fog and vanish in the air 
 Miles beyond the border now, but many miles to go
 My new life is waiting in old Mexico