The One-Line Lyric Challenge

No Gringo

Singer-songwriter Vienna Teng answers the question:
What if the fence turned around, and Americans were fleeing to Mexico for a better life?

Not as fictional as it seemed when it was written.

It's better performed live, so that's what I went with.

Song Prompt: "No Gringo" by Vienna Teng (Prompt closed)



Lyrics: ▶︎

Father says, head down
We don't want them finding you
Mother says, practice now
All the words you know

Oh, Arizona's burning
They say the fence turned round
Now the razor wire keeps us out

Mother says, with luck
We'll sleep under a roof tonight
Father says, in the truck
We'll be crushed in tight

Oh, Chicago don't forget me
As the miles between us grow
Keep the maple tree carved with the name of my love
The hills we would sled race down
Lake Michigan stay endless and painted in sky
Goodbye

Mother says, years ago
The whole world was ours to rule
Father says, let it go
Those days are gone for good

All the signs read: no gringo

No white folks

But somehow we'll find our way
Maybe waiting at dawn by the factory doors
Sunburnt and bent in the fields
Please don't turn us in
We'll be silent as the grave
As time

No gringo
No gringo aqu­i
Words as levies against the flood
Hoy cerrado

We're closed today

There's too many to feed
Room for only our own kind, our own blood

No gringo
No gringo aqu­i
You have stayed in this land for too long
Tan amargo

So bitter

But there's no time to grieve
You just pack up your things and move on
And move on...
 

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