Carmelita was a street angel
But she kept her halo hid
Never learned to read or write so well
She was just a farmer's kid
She took communion at the age of twelve
She wore a cross of wood
She heard the clanging of the mission bell
And she vowed that she'd be good
But the world goes 'round
And it's hard enough to stand your ground
There's always someone trying to keep you down
In a border town
Mamacita said, you can't go down
Stay away from the white man's world
She drew the line at the edge of town
For her little dark-haired girl
But Carmelita she had other plans
And her life had just begun
She ran away with a black-eyed man
And he left her with a black-eyed son
And the world goes 'round
And it's hard enough to stand your ground
There's always someone trying to keep you down
In a border town
Carmelita, now she's settling down
She's not so free and wild
She rides a bus all the way across town
To love somebody else's child
Shows up each morning right on time
And at six o'clock she's gone
She keeps her distance and she toes the line
'Cause she knows where it's been drawn
And the world goes 'round
And it's hard enough to stand your ground
There's always someone trying to keep you down
In a border town (in a border town)
In a border town