Laid back in an old saloon, with a peso in my hand
Watching flies and children on the street
And I catch a glimpse of black-eyed girls who giggle when I smile
There’s a little boy that wants to shine my feet
And it’s three days ride from Bakersfield1
And I don’t know why I came
I guess I came to keep from payin’ dues
So instead I’ve got a bottle and a girl who’s
just fourteen
And a damned good case of the Mexicali blues2
Is there anything a man don’t stand to lose
When the devil wants to take it all away
Cherish well your thoughts, keep a tight grip on your booze
’Cause thinking and drinking are all I have today
She said her name was Billie Jean and she was fresh in town
I didn’t know a stage-line ran from hell
She had raven hair, a ruffled dress, a necklace made of gold
And all the French perfume you’d care to smell
She took me up into her room and whispered in my ear
Go on my friend, do anything you choose
Now I’m payin’ for those happy hours I spent there in her arms
With a lifetime’s worth of the Mexicali blues
Is there anything a man don’t stand to lose
When the devil wants to take it all away
Cherish well your thoughts, keep a tight grip on your booze
’Cause thinking and drinking are all I have today
And then a man rode into town, some thought he was the law
Billie Jean was waiting when he came
She told me he would take her if I didn’t use my gun
And I’d have no one but myself to blame
I went down to those dusty streets, blood was on my mind
I guess that stranger hadn’t heard the news
’Cause I shot first and killed him, Lord he didn’t even draw
And he made me trade the gallows for the Mexicali blues3
Is there anything a man don’t stand to lose
When he lets a woman hold him in her hands
You just might find yourself out there on horseback in the dark
Just riding and running across those desert sands
Words by John Barlow
Music by Bob Weir
Bakersfield, a city in Southern California, owes its name to one of its founders, Col. Thomas Baker (1810–1872), who was also a U.S. senator. The city is the county seat of Kern County. The Grateful Dead played there once, on January 14, 1978, but did not include “Mexicali Blues” in their show. They did play it the night before, a Friday the thirteenth show in Santa Barbara, California, as well as the night after, in Fresno. Go figure.
According to Cities of the World:
The city of Mexicali, at the northern extremity of Baja California State [Mexico], is adjacent to Calexico, California. It is a duty-free port, with customs offices open 24 hours. . . . The city is accessible by highway, railroad, and air from the southwestern United States.
A 2005 population estimate puts Mexicali at 618,889, up from 348,500 in 1993.
Sometime between 1972 and 1973, Bob Weir changed this line to “Now I spend my lifetime running with the Mexicali blues.”
Written February 1971 in Middletown, Connecticut. Studio recording: Ace (May 1972).
First performance: October 19, 1971, at Northrop Auditorium, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. “Mexicali Blues” made it into the permanent repertoire, often performed in quick succession following either “Mama Tried” or “Me and My Uncle.”