Carmelita was a street angel but she kept her halo hid
Never learned to read or write so well, she was just a farmer's kid
She took communion at the age of twelve, she wore a cross of wood
She heard the clanging of the mission bell
And she vowed that she'd be good

But the world goes round and it's hard enough to stand your ground
There's always someone tryin' to keep you down in a border town

Mamacita said you can't go down, stay away from the white man's world
She drew the line at the edge of town for her little, dark-haired girl
But Carmelita she had other plans and her life had just begun
She ran away with a black-eyed man and he left her with a black-eyed son

But the world goes round and it's hard enough to stand your ground
There's always someone tryin' to keep you down in a border town

Carmelita, now she's settlin' down, she's not so free and wild
She rides a bus, all the way across town to love somebody else's child
Shows up each morning, right on time and at six o'clock, she's gone
She keeps her distance and she toes the line
'Cause she knows where it's been drawn

But the world goes round and it's hard enough to stand your ground
There's always someone tryin' to keep you down in a border town