Gallo del Cielo

Carlos Zaragoza left his home in Casas Grandes when the moon was full
He had no money in his pocket, just a locket of his sister framed in gold
He rode into El Sueco, stole a rooster named "Gallo del Cielo"
Then he crossed the Rio Grande with that rooster nestled deep beneath his arm

Gallo del Cielo was a warrior born in heaven, so the legends say
His wings, they had been broken, he had one eye rollin' crazy in his head
He'd fought a hundred fights, and the legends say that one night near El Sueco
They'd fought Cielo seven times and seven times he'd left brave roosters dead

Hola, my Theresa, I'm thinkin' of you now in San Antonio
I have twenty-seven dollars and the good luck of your picture framed in gold
Tonight I'll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo del Cielo
And I'll return to buy the land that Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

Outside of San Diego near the onion fields of Paco Monteverde
The Pride of San Diego lay sleepin' on a fancy bed of silk
They all laughed when Zaragoza took ole' one-eyed del Cielo from beneath his coat
But they cried when Zaragoza walked away with a thousand dollar bill

Hola, my Theresa, I'm thinkin' of you now in Santa Barbara
I have fifteen hundred dollars and the good luck of your picture framed in gold
Tonight I'll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo del Cielo
And I'll return to buy the land that Pancho Villa stole from Father long ago

Now the moon has gone to hiding and the lantern light spills shadows on the fighting sand
Where a wicked black named Zorro faces del Cielo in the night
Carlos Zaragoza feared the tiny crack that runs across his rooster's beak
And he fears that he has lost the fifty thousand dollars riding on the fight

Hola, my Theresa, I'm thinkin' of you now in Santa Clara
All the money's on the table, I'm holdin' to your good luck framed in gold
Everything we've dreamed of is riding on spurs of del Cielo
Then I'll return to buy the land that Pancho Villa stole from Father long ago

Then the signal, it was given and the roosters rose together far above the sand
Then Gallo del Cielo sunk a gaff into Zorro's shining breast
They were separated quickly, they rose and fought each other thirty-seven times again
And the legends all agree that Gallo del Cielo, he fought the best

But now the cries of Zaragoza fill the night outside the town of Santa Clara
As the beak of del Cielo lay broken like a shell within his hand
And they say that Zaragoza screamed a curse upon the bones of Pancho Villa
As Zorro rose up one last time and drove del Cielo into the sand

Hola, my Theresa, I'm thinkin' of you now in San Francisco
I have no money in my pocket, I no longer have your locket framed in gold
Because I buried it last evenin' with the bones of my beloved del Cielo
And I will not return to buy the land that Villa stole long ago

Do the rivers still run muddy outside of my beloved Casas Grandes?
And does the scar upon my brother's face turn red when he hears mention of my name?
Do the people of El Sueco still curse the theft of Gallo del Cielo?
Tell my family not to worry, I will not return to cause them shame