[Verse 1]
The lights of Laredo dance on the water
And shine in a young man's eyes
Who stand on the border and dreams of paradise

[Verse 2]
He's heard crazy stories
Of how people live over in the promised land
He heard they eat three meals a day
Just across the Rio Grande

[Verse 3]
He's got a wife named Maria
And a baby named Rose
And another one to feed on the way
Two willing hands that couldn't find work today

[Verse 4]
He stares at the river
And curses the future that he can't understand
He knows the child would have a chance
Just across the Rio Grande

[Chorus]
It's only a river that's not so deep or wide
A boy can throw a stone across and reach the other side
It's just some muddy water
Cutting through the land
But a man can make a dream come true
Just across the Rio Grande

[Verse 5]
The lights of Laredo dance on the water
And shine in a young man's eyes
Who stand on the border and dreams of paradise
He's heard crazy stories of how good life is over in the promised land
And sometimes it seems like God must live
Just across the Rio Grande

[Chorus]
It's only a river that's not so deep or wide
A boy can throw a stone across and reach the other side
It's just some muddy water
Cutting through the land
But a man can make a dream come true
Just across the Rio Grande

[Outro]
Sometimes it seems like God must live
Just across the Rio Grande