There's trouble on the streets tonight, I can feel it 
in my bones
I had a premonition that he should not go alone
I knew the gun was loaded, but I didn't think it'd kill
Then everything exploded and the blood began to spill

So baby, here's your ticket, put the suitcase in your 
hand
Here's a little money now, do it just the way we 
planned
You be cool for twenty hours and I'll pay you twenty 
grand 

I'm sorry it went down like this
But someone had to lose
It's the nature of the business
It's the smuggler's blues
Smuggler's blues 

The sailors and pilots, the soldiers and the law
The pay-offs and the rip-offs, and the things nobody 
saw
No matter if it's heroin, cocaine, or hash
You've got to carry weapons 'cause you always carry 
cash
There's lots of shady characters, lots of dirty deals
It's the lure of easy money; it's got a very strong 
appeal

Perhaps you'd understand it better
Standin' in my shoes
It's the ultimate enticement
It's the smuggler's blues
Smuggler's blues 

You see it in the headlines, you hear it every day
They say they're gonna stop it but it doesn't go away
They move it through Miami and sell it in L.A.
They hide it up in Telluride, I mean it's here to stay
It's propping up the governments in Colombia and Peru
You ask any DEA man, he'll say, "There's nothin' we can 
do"
From the office of the President, right down to me and 
you
Me and you

It's a losing proposition
But one you can't refuse
It's the politics of contraband
It's the smuggler's blues
Smuggler's blues
Mmm... mmmhmmm....
Woah, woah
Oh, woah
Yow! Yow!
Ooh....