Gustavo - Mark Kozelek.mp3

[00:24.78]I wrote a check and I bought an old house
[00:28.26]I got a TV and a worn-out couch
[00:31.14]Hired a guy named Gustavo and his friends
[00:34.53]To fix it up from the foundation
[00:37.14]Oh god, those mother******s drove me ****
[00:40.44]With their electrical saws and mariachi music
[00:44.49]But they really stepped it up man
[00:47.25]And put their backs into it
[00:50.91]But they lived pretty far away
[00:53.67]They wanted to stay for a couple of months
[00:56.70]'Til the work got done and I said sure
[01:00.27]Made ‘em a key and got ‘em a microwave
[01:16.02]Gustavo was an illegal immigrant
[01:18.99]He took the money that I gave him
[01:20.91]And he went and spent it on strippers and casinos
[01:25.47]And every once in a while with them I’d go
[01:29.01]It gets boring out in the mountains, you know
[01:32.34]Chopping wood, falling asleep to the TV snow
[01:36.63]Making ground beef tacos
[01:39.36]On the top of a potbellied stove
[01:42.36]Eating noodles from a Styrofoam cup
[01:45.06]Waiting for a ride that never shows up
[01:48.30]Walking into town, browsing the windows
[01:51.81]Looking at rifles, looking at ammo
[01:54.42]At night when everything’s closed
[01:58.35]In my wet boots, in my winter clothes
[02:04.89]One night they were headed for Tahoe
[02:07.68]They asked me along but I said ************* no
[02:11.49]'Cause I was tired and my money was tight
[02:14.28]And they just laughed and said alright
[02:17.49]And on the way back they got stopped
[02:20.49]By a redneck sunnyside highway cop
[02:23.91]Gustavo was drunk and had an ounce of pot
[02:27.09]And spent the night on a jailhouse cot
[02:30.99]They deported him back to Mexico
[02:33.75]He called me collect from a Tijuana pay phone
[02:37.59]Asking man, could you wire me money?
[02:41.55]2500 for a border coyote
[02:43.80]He needed work and he missed his family
[02:46.68]But I hung up and I said I’m sorry
[02:53.88]But I hung up and I felt uneasy
[03:00.42]I hung up and my heart was heavy
[03:03.72]I hung up and my back was aching
[03:06.27]Picking up the work they’d left in front of me
[03:09.45]The demoed walls and the pulled up floors
[03:12.72]The busted up cabinets and the broken drawers
[03:15.96]The kitchen sink was laying in the backyard
[03:19.20]And I looked down and my hands were trembling
[03:25.71]And I looked up and my roof was leaking
[03:32.13]Now I still sleep on my beat-up old couch
[03:35.22]In the living room of my unfinished house
[03:38.94]I got a licensed contractor
[03:41.43]But he quit cause his wife was dying of cancer
[03:45.03]But what the hell, I’m just here trying to find answers
[03:48.00]To find peace of mind, to get a piece of the rock
[03:51.45]A place to put my mental clock
[03:54.42]And my old guitars and gently rock
[03:57.87]Back and forth in my front porch chair
[04:00.96]Without a worry, without a care
[04:04.23]I’m doing alright but I’m still not there
[04:10.59]My house ain’t done, but it’s alright
[04:14.01]Floors ain’t level, but I ain’t some suburban
[04:17.58]Who cares about bathroom tiles
[04:20.19]Straight lines and building codes and Chinese wind chimes
[04:23.49]My house ain’t done, but it’s fine
[04:26.76]Come out here from time to time
[04:30.00]In December for the snow
[04:33.15]And in July to watch the roses
[04:36.21]My gardener asks had I seen Gustavo?
[04:39.81]I just laughed and I said ************* no
[04:43.35]Not since that night he left
[04:46.05]His hair combed back, headed for Tahoe
[04:49.29]My girlfriend asked had I heard from that guy from Mexico?
[04:53.64]I said you mean Gustavo?
[04:55.77]And I just laughed and I said no
[04:58.68]Not since he called from the Tijuana pay phone
[05:01.38]Really I don’t give much thought to Gustavo
[05:12.00]I love to go out to the mountains, though
[05:19.62]And in the fall, feel the breeze blow
[05:24.69]And in the winter, watch the falling snow
[05:31.71]And in the spring, love the rainbows
[05:37.77]And in the summer smell the roses
[05:41.25]White and red and yellow