Desert Rose - Alice Wallace

She was born at the wrong time

On the wrong side of the line

But she never let it do her any harm

Tough but sweet

Quick on her feet

She talked her way through Juarez on her charm

But with looks that might kill

And even more charming still

The young man won her over at first sight

They danced so very close

He called her «Desert Rose»

And her ever closer through the night

He said «Espera, mi amor

«It won’t be long before

«Everything you dream is at your feet

«You'll never find a love like mine

«And you’ll always be safe with me»

As her belly grew more round

The handsome man left town

She was left alone to sit and wait

She carved a wooden rose

For the baby’s name she chose

And swore her child would never share her fate

And one night she left it all

Wrapped in her mother’s shawl

She headed for the lights across the line

El Paso wasn’t far

But she stumbled in the dark

As the pain inside her body made her blind

She said «Espera, mi amor

«It won’t be long before

«Everything you dream is at your feet

«You'll never find a love like mine

«And always be safe with me»

They found her lying on the floor

Bleeding by the door

Of the train station’s public bathroom stall

She held her daughter close

Her little desert rose

As the El Paso sun lit up the depot walls

And she said «Espera, mi amor

«It won’t be long before

«Everything you dream is at your feet

«You'll never find a love like mine

«And always be safe with me»