He lay his blanket underneath the freeway

As the evening sky grew dark

Took a sniff of toncho from his coke can

And headed through Balboa Park

Where the men in their Mercedes

Come nightly to employ

In the cool San Diego evening

The services of the border boys



He grew up near the Zona Norte

With the hustlers and smugglers he hung out with

He swallowed their balloons of cocaine

Brought 'em across to the Twelfth Street strip

Sleeping in a shelter

If the night got too cold

Runnin' from the migra

Of the border patrol



Past the salvage yard 'cross the train tracks

And in through the storm drain

They stretched their blankets out 'neath the freeway

And each one took a name

There was X-man and Cochise

Little Spider his sneakers covered in river mud

They come north to California

End up with the poison in their blood



He did what he had to for the money

Sometimes he sent home what he could spare

The rest went to high-top sneakers and toncho

And jeans like the gavachos wear



One night the border patrol swept Twelfth Street

A big car come fast down the boulevard

Spider stood caught in its headlights

Got hit and went down hard

As the car sped away Spider held his stomach

Limped to his blanket 'neath the underpass

Lie there tasting his own blood on his tongue

Closed his eyes and listened to the cars

Rushin' by so fast