I met Luis Ramirez   On the streets of Veracruz   Chasin' shadows down the alley   Pinning medals on our shoes   We grew up and worked together   In the hillsides and the fields   'Til the citrus dried   And the coffee prices fell   Jobs started moving north   'Til there was no work left to find   Luis said he knew somebody   Who could help us cross the line   So we met with Don Garcia   And took out our loans   That night we danced and drank like morning wouldn't come   A bus took us to the border   Where together we crossed the wire   But we lost sight of the coyote   As the white Sonoran sun began to rise   Through the canyons and arroyos   We made our way west   The wind swept across the dirt   And erased our steps   It was out on devil's highway   Where the heat turns your sweat to paste   Luis fell 'neath the red shadows   Of the lost souls who haunt this place   He took the money from his pocket   Put his hand in mine   And said, "brother, I'll meet you on the other side"      Down on the desert floor   His eyes the color of rust   Luis lay dying   His blood mixing with the dust      I held his hand 'til he stopped breathing   Whispered grace into his hear   But out there in desolation   You need a different kind of prayer   So I crossed in to Yuma county   Through the burning mesquite trees   In every buzzard's laugh   I swore I heard Luis   Now there's a bar on south magnolia   Where I spend what I don't need   Buying drinks with the gavachos   With my brothers from the fields   We passed through the dead and dying   Across dried bones and dusted dreams   My friend, you don't forget   The way that hunger feels      Tonight the Yuma sky is endless   And the water is cool and green   I close my eyes   And let the darkness swallow me