El Paso Kid by Mac Leaphart Lyrics

[Verse]
She got knocked up
And kept on drinking
Smoking half a pack a day
She didn't want that baby
But she had him anyway
He showed up six weeks early
She left him down on cradle row
A rough start for buddy
A long way to go

[Verse]
Life ain't easy on a bastard
Kids are wild, mean, and rash
Don't help it when your daddy
Was Juarez basura
Your mother was El Paso trash
You had one side calling him greasy
Another hollering "Gringo!"
It's a rough start for buddy
A long way to go
[Bridge]
Well, I don't claim to know a damn thing
About the way the world goes 'round
And how some folks are born primed to swim
And other folks are primed to drown
When the cards are on the table
Play your hand, or you can fold
It's a rough start for buddy
A long way to go

[Verse]
Well, he found himself on the curb
Just one last time
On the day he turned eighteen
He thought about the army
But he couldn't see himself in green
So he just headed north along the Rio Grande
He knew his life wasn't in vain
It was just unplanned
And sure as a mockingbird sings a stolen song
And the straightest path finds a crow
It's a rough start for buddy
A long way to go

[Bridge]
Well, there's a special place in heaven
For those who scrap for a fighting chance
A long shot, tooth and nails
All the odds be damned
When the cards on the table
Play your hand, or you can fold
It's a rough start for buddy
A long way to go
Rough start for buddy
A long way to go