Cracker's cover version
Miguel came from a small town in northern Mexico
He came north with his brother Louis to California three years ago
They crossed at the river levee when Louis was just sixteen
They found work together in the fields of the San Joaquin
They left their homes and family, their father said, "My sons one thing you must learn
For everything the north it gives, it exacts a price in return"
They worked side by side in the orchards from morning till the day was through
Doing the work the hueros wouldn't do
Word was out some men in from Sinaloa were looking for some hands
Well deep in Fresno County there was a deserted chicken ranch
There in a small tin shack on the edge, on the edge of a ravine
Miguel and Louis stood cooking methamphetamine
You could spend a year in the orchards or make half as much in one shift
Working for the men from Sinaloa, ah, but if you slipped
The hydriodic acid could burn right, right through your skin
They leave you spitting up blood in the desert if you breath those fumes in
It was early one winter evening as Miguel stood watch outside
When the shack exploded, lighting up the valley night
Miguel carried Louis over his shoulder down a swale to the creek side
And there in the tall grass Louis Rosales died
Miguel lifted Louis's body into the truck and then he drove
To where the morning sunlight fell on a eucalyptus grove
There in the dirt he dug up ten thousand dollars, all that they had saved
Kissed his brother's lips and placed him in his grave
The above lyrics are for Cracker's cover version of SINALOA COWBOYS. It was released on their 2003 album Countrysides.
Cracker's cover version of SINALOA COWBOYS was recorded at Sound Of Music Studios in Richmond, VA, produced by David Lowery and John Morand, arranged by David Lowery and Johnny Hickman, enginereed by Brian Hoffa, and mixed by Alan Weatherhead. The track features David Lowery on vocals and acoustic guitar, Johnny Hickman on lead electric guitar, Brandy Wood on bass guitar, Kenny Margolis on accordion, and Frank Funaro on drums and percussion.
Cracker's cover version of SINALOA COWBOYS was also included on some other official releases.
Liner notes from the Light Of Day: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen album booklet:
Having grown up near the Mojave desert and central valleys of California, this tragic ballad of need, greed, speed and brotherly love hit home with David Lowery and I. Kenny Margolis brought the Bruce version to a recording session and we loved it. It seemed very natural to give our rendition a Mexicali aura. It sounds like the forlorn "Cuentos" or folk ballads we heard on mexican radio as teenagers.
- Johnny Hickman
List of available versions of SINALOA COWBOYS on this website:
SINALOA COWBOYS [Album version]
