02 / Romantic Collapse
Saints and Sinners
The sun comes up in a haze of gold Over tin roofs and wire Coffee boils on a rusted stove While the hills whisper of fire There’s a line of blacked-out SUVs Idling by the square Old men watch from wooden chairs Like they’ve seen this all somewhere Children run through narrow streets Chasing a worn-out ball They learn the names of saints and kings Before they learn much else at all In this town of saints and sinners Where the mountains hold their breath You measure every promise made Against the cost of debt Ay Dios mío, danos paz Aunque sea por un día Because around here peace is borrowed And hope is contraband mercancía There’s a girl who sings at weddings With a voice like pouring wine She knows every ranchera Every heartbreak line by line Her brother keeps a pager Tucked beneath his shirt He says he’s just a businessman But his hands are stained with dirt The jukebox plays a bolero Trumpets cry and bend Love and danger share a table Like lifelong friends In this town of saints and sinners Where the mountains hold their breath Every kiss tastes a little sweeter With the nearness of regret No preguntes por el futuro Nadie sabe lo que vendrá We dance tonight beneath the lanterns While the sirens hum afar They say the desert keeps its secrets Buried deep in sand But secrets grow like thorns at night And cut the tender hand Still we light our candles Still we raise a glass For the ones who crossed the river And the ones who couldn’t pass Mi tierra herida, mi corazón Late fuerte todavía Even in the shadow of power There’s stubborn alegría In this town of saints and sinners We wake, we work, we pray Some chase fortune, some chase mercy Some just make it through the day The sun goes down in a blaze of red Over dust and broken stone And somewhere in the darkened hills A mother waits aloneBack to The Land of Silver and Sorrow