Paying the Fiddler Lyrics

By Dub Miller and Matt Skinner
Left a dead man in Chihuahua, now hes hiding out in Baja
in the sun and sand where no one knows the past
of a long forgotten hero from a long forgotten time
an outlaw who has seen his better days
Now in Cabo senoritas, forgotten dreams and cheap tequila
maybe he might ease his wounded soul
from a thousand revolutions, he must pay his retribution,
and make his peace with finally getting old
Chorus:
He said Ive been to all four corners, and Ive ridden all four winds
and Ive had somewhere to go up till now
hes the last of a dying breed, whos seen all there is to see
and hes paying the fiddler now.
When the cold wind hit the Frio, it was time to leave Del Rio
Uncle Sam was calling him to fight
headlines say torpedoes, their like Houston mosquitoes
boys, pack your bags, were leaving here tonight
It was that Pacific Ocean where he first got the notion
that a mercenary lifes the way to be
so he traded in his saddle and his favorite pair of boots
for the wind and sail and life upon the sea
In the spring of 45, he left MacArthurs side
and found himself entrenched in Panama
then on to Costa Rica, then to fight the Sandanistas
then on to somewhere else I cant recall
Lines of latitude and longitude never made a bit of sense
to a man who made his living making war
its a life lived by the peso and the crooked dollar bill
and the constant call of another distant shore
Now the setting western sun hides the secrets of the desert
a marichai band plays their last sad song
and old man pours a glass of rum and thinks about the past
and a future where he no longer belongs
As the tourists wander in he wonders can they see the sins
of the scars that his battered body bears
do they know of all the deeds hes done, or know of all the battles won
now hes too old to fight and no one really cares