The Pila Song Lyrics

The wind was hot and the sun was hard
I was beat and my mare was tired
And the fence line I was riding stretched forever
My mind drifted off and back
To Carmella and her heart of black
And the things that she�d said to me yesterday
So when the boss sent me out checking fences
I was glad cause I knew that it meant
That I could spend some time out all alone

I wiped the sweat that stung my eyes
Looked up and I realized
That I was coming up on the south windmill
The concrete tank stood there beside
The water trough that it supplied
When the trough was full the mill could keep on pumping & pumping & pumping
So we drank deep from the shallow trough
And wetting my hair gave me the thought
That a swim in that big tank might cool me down

So I shucked my duds and hung �em on the fence
Climbed the wires to reach the rim
Pulled myself on up and jumped right in
The water was cool down underneath
But deeper than I thought it�d be
There was no ladder and the walls were slick with moss
Sure enough I got cooled down
When I found I had no way out
And the thought of a rat in a feed bin chilled my blood

Well, at first I laughed at the fix I was in
Then my troubles all sank in
Without some help I was there to stay
I screamed and clawed to no avail
Till dignity and voice had failed
I wore my fingers down on those damned walls
I marked the time with the windmill�s shade
Passing cross my mossy grave
And the cows coming to water twice a day

I always figured lightning strike
Or rattlesnake or barroom fight
Would do me in, not some Mexican rose
The fact is I was hot and dumb
Struck stupid by the sun and love
So on the one hand I guess she�d played her part
Through all that time I cussed her lots
But I cussed myself the most because
I had not looked before I leapt

Now overhead an eagle soars
And I smell rain coming from the north
I wonder if she�ll even shed one tear
Just one tear over me
Just one tear over me.

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