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