Standard (EADGBE)

Layin' back in an old saloon with a peso in my hand

Watchin' 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 who wants to shine my feet

And it's three days ride from Bakersfield and I don't know why I came

I guess I came to keep from payin' dues

But instead I've got a bottle and a girl who's just fourteen

And a damn good case of the Mexicali Blues, yeah

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

'Cuz thinkin' and drinkin' are all I have today.

She said her name was Billie Jean; 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

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 paying for those happy hours I spent there in her arms

With a lifetime case of the Mexicali Blues, yeah.

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

'Cuz thinkin' and drinkin' are all I have today.

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.

"Cuz I shot first and killed him. Lord he didn't even draw.

And he made me trade the gallows for the Mexicali Blues.

Is there anything a man don't stand to lose

When he lets a woman hold him in her hand?

You just might find yourself out there on horseback in the dark

Just ridin' and runnin' across those desert sands.

Notes:

I use a strum with a lot of alternating bass - usually 4th and 5th strings -

for the A and D chords. However, I find that the strumming patterns

vary greatly throughout the song. Play along with the record to get

the right feel.

I fake the trumpet intro with D chord forms using D, Dsus4 and D9.

The G-B-Em chord progression in some verses sounds best as single emphasized

strums synchronized to the words (e.g. some THOUGHT he WAS the LAW).