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.