Charlie headed out on highway 101 today
Drove an old Cadillac with California plates
None of the orderlies knew at 3 A.M.
That they would never see old Charlie again
And nobody from his family ever knew
That he was feeling oh so, so, so blue
They packed his bags and left him there
Salvador had a dream the other night
Crossed the river in the rain by the pale moon light
None of the border guards knew at 3 A.M.
That they would never see Salvador again
And when his mother came in she found a note
Fell to her knees and exclaimed a mi dios
Please bless my child on his way
If you could live a different life would you
If you could live a different life could you
If you could live a different life would you, could you, would you
Out the window rosa ran to anywhere
Tired of explaining how she'd only fallen down the stairs
And Rosa's father did not know at 3 A.M.
That he would never see his own daughter again
She ran faster than the black and blue
Ran faster that his two fists flew
And she swore she'd never see his face again
If you could live a different life would you
If you could live a different life could you
If you could live a different life would you, could you, would you
And in a vision somewhere there's an ocean
And waiting there's a boat to sail
And sometimes I feel I've a notion
That I'm already there
And in a vision somewhere there's a mountain
And on the top a plane to fly
And if I had the strength to reach the summit
Then I would try before I die
If you could live a different life would you
If you could live a different life could you
If you could live a different life would you, could you, would you
