Live 28 Oct 1995 version
[Spoken intro:] This is a song about uh... two brothers who come north from Mexico and get caught up in the drug trade in Central California, it's called "Sinaloa Cowboys".
Well 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
And found work together in the fields of the San Joaquin
Well they left their homes and family, their father said, "My sons one thing you will learn
For everything the north gives, it exacts a price in return"
They worked side by side in the orchards from morning till the day was through
Just doing the work the hueros wouldn't do
Well the word was out some men in from Sinaloa were looking for some hands
Well deep in Fresno County there was a deserted chicken ranch
Well there in a small tin shack on the edge of a ravine
Miguel and Louis stood cooking methamphetamine
Well you can spend a year in the orchards or make half as much in one ten-hour shift
Working for the men from Sinaloa, ah, but if you slipped
Well hydriodic acid it'll burn right through your skin
They'd leave you spitting up blood in the desert if you breath those fumes in
Well it was early one winter evening as Miguel stood watch outside
Well when the shack exploded, lighting up the valley night
Miguel carried Louis's body over his shoulder down a swale to the creek side
And there in the tall grass Louis Rosales died
Well Miguel lifted Louis's body into his 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'd saved
Kissed his brother's lips and placed him in his grave
The above lyrics are for the live 28 Oct 1995 performance of SINALOA COWBOYS at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA, during the ninth Bridge School Benefit concert. The song was played solo on acoustic guitar and harmonica.
The Bridge School Benefit is an annual charity concert organized by Neil Young's wife (until 2014) Pegi Young. Almost every one of the concerts, which started in 1986 and were held every year since 1998, has taken place at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA. Proceeds from the concerts benefit the Bridge School, a non-profit organization in Hillsborough, CA, for children with severe speech and physical impairments. The school aims to help the children achieve full participation in their communities through Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Assistive Technologies (AT). It was founded in 1986 by Pegi Young, Jim Foreder and Dr. Marilyn Buzolich. Bruce Springsteen has performed at two of these benefits: the first edition in 1986 and the ninth edition in 1995.
The ninth annual concert took place on 28 Oct 1995 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA, and featured in the line-up Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Beck, Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, The Pretenders, and Hootie & The Blowfish. Springsteen performed solo during his set.
The first eight songs are Bruce Springsteen's set, featuring Springsteen solo. The last song is the concert's finale featuring all of the evening's performers.
List of available versions of SINALOA COWBOYS on this website:
SINALOA COWBOYS [Album version]
