The Line
I got my discharge from Fort Irwin
Took a place on the San Diego county line
Felt funny bein' a civilian again
It'd been some time
My wife had died a year ago
I was still tryin' to find my way back whole
Went to work for the INS on the line
With the California border patrol
Bobby Ramirez was a ten-year veteran
We became friends
His family was from Guanajuato
So the job it was different for him
He said "They risk death in the deserts and mountains
Pay all they got to the smugglers rings
We send 'em home and they come right back again
Carl hunger is a powerful thing."
Well I was good at doin' what I was told
Kept my uniform pressed and clean
At night I chased their shadows
Through the arroyos and ravines
Drug runners farmers with their families
Young women with little children by their sides
Come night we'd wait out in the canyons
And try to keep 'em from crossin' the line
Well the first time that I saw her
She was in the holdin' pen
Our eyes met and she looked away
Then she looked back again
Her hair was black as coal
Her eyes reminded me of what I'd lost
She had a young child cryin' in her arms
I asked "Senora is there anything I can do ?"
There's a bar in Tijuana
Where me and Bobby drink alongside
The same people we'd sent back the day before
She said her name was Louisa
She was from Sonora and had just come north
We danced and I held her in my arms
And I knew what I would do
She said she had some family in Madera county
If she her child and younger brother could just get through
At night they come across the levee
In the searchlight's dusty glow
We'd rush 'em in our Broncos
Force 'em back down into the river below
She climbed into my truck
She leaned toward me and we kissed
As we drove her brother's shirt slipped open
And I saw the tape across his chest
We were just about on the highway
When Bobby's jeep come up in the dust on my right
I pulled over and let my engine run
And stepped out into his lights
I felt myself movin'
My gun restin' 'neath my hand
We stood there starin' at each other
As off through the arroyo she ran
Bobby Ramirez he never said nothin'
Six months later I left the line
I drifted to the central valley
And took what work that I could find
At night I searched the local bars
And the migrant towns
Lookin' for my Louisa
With the black hair fallin' down
A Fronteira
Eu recebi minha dispensa de Fort Irwin
Peguei um lugar na divisa do condado de San Diego
Era estranho ser civil de novo
Fazia um tempo
Minha esposa tinha morrido há um ano
Eu ainda tentava encontrar meu caminho de volta
Fui trabalhar para o INS na linha
Com a patrulha da fronteira da Califórnia
Bobby Ramirez era um veterano de dez anos
Nos tornamos amigos
A família dele era de Guanajuato
Então o trabalho era diferente pra ele
Ele disse: "Eles arriscam a vida nos desertos e montanhas
Pagam tudo que têm para os contrabandistas
Nós os mandamos de volta e eles voltam de novo
A fome é uma coisa poderosa."
Bem, eu era bom em fazer o que me mandavam
Mantinha meu uniforme passado e limpo
À noite, eu perseguia suas sombras
Através dos arroios e ravinas
Traficantes, fazendeiros com suas famílias
Mulheres jovens com crianças pequenas ao lado
Quando chegava a noite, esperávamos nos cânions
E tentávamos impedi-los de cruzar a linha
Bem, a primeira vez que a vi
Ela estava no curral
Nossos olhares se cruzaram e ela desviou
Depois olhou de novo
Seu cabelo era negro como carvão
Seus olhos me lembravam do que eu havia perdido
Ela tinha uma criança pequena chorando em seus braços
Eu perguntei: "Senhora, tem algo que eu possa fazer?"
Tem um bar em Tijuana
Onde eu e Bobby bebemos juntos
As mesmas pessoas que mandamos de volta no dia anterior
Ela disse que se chamava Louisa
Era de Sonora e tinha acabado de vir pro norte
Dançamos e eu a segurei em meus braços
E eu sabia o que faria
Ela disse que tinha alguns parentes no condado de Madera
Se ela, a criança e o irmão mais novo conseguissem passar
À noite, eles atravessam a barragem
Na luz empoeirada do holofote
Nós os apressávamos em nossas Broncos
Forçávamos eles de volta pro rio abaixo
Ela entrou na minha caminhonete
Se inclinou pra mim e nos beijamos
Enquanto dirigíamos, a camisa do irmão dela se abriu
E eu vi a fita no peito dele
Estávamos quase na estrada
Quando o jipe do Bobby apareceu na poeira à minha direita
Eu parei e deixei o motor ligado
E saí pra luz dele
Senti meu corpo se movendo
Minha arma descansando sob minha mão
Ficamos ali nos encarando
Enquanto ela corria pelo arroio
Bobby Ramirez nunca disse nada
Seis meses depois eu deixei a linha
Fui parar no vale central
E peguei o trabalho que consegui encontrar
À noite, eu procurava nos bares locais
E nas cidades de migrantes
Procurando pela minha Louisa
Com o cabelo negro caindo.