I'm just trying to make a living
I'm an old man at 39
Two kids and an ex-wife
Moved up to Riverside
Working down on the border
Driving back roads every night
Mountains east of El Cajon
North of the Tecate Line

Well the California summer sun will burn right to your 
soul
In the winter you can freeze to death
In the California snow

I catch the ones I'm able to
Watch the others slip away
I know some by their faces
And I even know some by name

Guess they think that we're all movie stars and 
millionaires
Guess that they still believe that dreams come true up 
here

But I bet the weather's warmer down in Mexico
And no one ever tells them 'bout the California snow

Last winter found a man and wife
Just about day break
Laying in a frozen ditch
South of the interstate
I wrapped 'em both in blankets
But she'd already died
Next day we sent him back alone
Across the borderline

Don't know where they came from
Or where they planned to go
But he carried her all night long
Through the California snow
Sometimes when I'm alone out here
I get to thinking about my life
Maybe I should go to Riverside
And try to fix things with my wife
Maybe just get in my truck
And drive as far as I can go
Away from all the ghosts that haunt
The California snow

Well the California summer sun can burn right to your 
soul
In the winter you can freeze to death
In the California snow
In the winter you can freeze to death
In the California snow