The lights of Laredo dance on the water
And shine in a young man's eyes
Who stand on the border
And dreams of paradise
He's heard crazy stories of how people live
Over in the promised land
He heard they eat three meals a day
Just across the Rio Grande

He's got a wife named Maria
And a baby named Rose
And another one to feed on the way
Two willing hand
That couldn't find work today
He stares at the river and curses the future
That he can't understand
He knows the child would have a chance
Justacross the Rio Grande

It's only a river
That's not so deep or wide
A boy can throw a stone across
And reach the other side
It's just some muddy water
Cutting through the land
But a man can make a dream come true
Just across the Rio Grande

The lights of Laredo dance on the water
And shine in a young man's eyes
Who stand on the border
And dreams of paradise.
He's heard crazy stories of how good life is
Over in the promised land
And sometimes it seems like God must live
Just across the Rio Grande

Sometimes it seems like God must live
Just across the Rio Grande