It got so hot, last night, I swear

You couldn't hardly breathe

Heat lightning burnt the sky like alcohol

I sat on the porch without my shoes

And I watched the cars roll by

As the headlights raced

To the corner of the kitchen wall.



Chorus:

Mama dear 

Your boy is here

Far across the sea

Waiting for

That sacred core

That burns inside of me

And I feel a storm

All wet and warm

Not ten miles away

Approaching

My Mexican home.



My God! I cried, it's so hot inside

You could die in the living room

Take the fan from the window

Prop the door back with a broom

The cuckoo clock has died of shock

And the windows feel no pane

The air's as still

As the throttle on a funeral train.



Chorus:



My father died on the porch outside

On an August afternoon

I sipped bourbon and cried

With a friend by the light of the moon

So its hurry! hurry! Step right up

It's a matter of life or death

The sun is going down

And the moon is just holding its breath.



Chorus: