Story Behind The Song
Though Chamagua is a mythical town, the events related to the Cinco de Mayo celebration happen, in many places, as described. The desert scene really happened, in 2006 just north of Yuma. Reports said the border patrol had chased the van filled with Me
Song Description
The song describes a mythical town in Mexico where the men come home from the U.S. every one or two years and stay with their families through Cinco de May. They go to the U.S. because there is work there. Nine of them were killed in 2006 in a border pa
| Song Length |
3:54 |
Genre |
Folk - Rock, Rock - Hard Rock |
| Tempo |
Non 4/4 |
Lead Vocal |
Female Vocal |
| Mood |
Outraged, Nonviolent |
Subject |
Protest, Town, Village |
| Similar Artists |
Indigo Girls, Linda Ronstadt |
Language |
English |
| Era |
2000 and later |
| |
Lyrics
NINE DEAD
Words and Music by Carlene Thissen Copyright 2006
VERSE 1:
Cinco de Mayo down in Chamagua
Music and dancing, carnitas and beer
Then the men leave again, to go north for the year
?Cause there?s planting in Quincy and picking in Fresno
Hotels, construction, landscaping and farms
And the women cry, holding their men in their arms.
REFRAIN 1::
And the town goes dark as they all leave again
When will it end? When will it end?
VERSE 2:
Señor Presidente, help our own country.
Make us some jobs so we don?t have to go.
Leaving our families, leaving our homes.
Even with good luck, we could be caught
And a voice at the border, hauntingly cries
If you get bad luck, you could die.
REFRAIN 2:
The voices go unheard, again and again
When will it end? When will it end?
VERSE 3:
Two thousand dollars paid at the border
Twenty-one stacked in a van built for ten.
Border patrol dead set on stopping them.
High-speed pursuit into the desert
Spike strip for tires, designed to make holes
The driver makes a U-turn, the van --- rolls.
REFRAIN 3 REPLACED BY MUSIC INTERLUDE ? (ROUGH THEN GRADUALLY SOFTER)
Em Em7 Em Em7
D Bm Em7 D Em D G D G
VERSE 4:
Cinco de Mayo down in Chamagua
Music and dancing, carnitas and beer
But every year more people can?t hide their tears.
Still there?s planting in Quincy and picking in Fresno
Hotels, construction, landscaping and farms
And the women cry, holding their men in their arms.
REFRAIN 3:
And the town goes dark as they all leave again
Except for the nine dead, nine dead men
When will it end? When will it end?