The Pila Song
Max Stalling Lyrics

The wind was hot and the sun was hard
It was a sweltering day and the sun was scorching.

I was beat and my mare was tired
Both he and his horse were exhausted from traveling.

And the fence line I was riding stretched forever
The fence he was riding along seemed to go on for miles.

My mind drifted off and back
He lost focus and his mind wandered.

To Carmella and her heart of black
He was thinking about a woman named Carmella who he believes is untrustworthy.

And the things that she'd said to me yesterday
He was reflecting on the hurtful things Carmella had said to him the day before.

So when the boss sent me out checking fences
He was grateful for the task of checking fences because it meant he could have some alone time.

I was glad cause I knew that it meant
He was happy for the opportunity to be alone with his thoughts.

I wiped the sweat that stung my eyes
He had to wipe away sweat that was irritating his eyes.

Looked up and I realized
He glanced up and understood something important.

That I was coming up on the south windmill
He was approaching a windmill in the southern part of the ranch.

The concrete tank stood there beside
Next to the windmill, there was a concrete tank.

The water trough that it supplied
The water from the tank flowed into a trough.

When the trough was full the mill could keep on pumping & pumping & pumping
The full trough allowed the windmill to keep pumping water.

So we drank deep from the shallow trough
He and his horse drank a lot from the shallow trough.

And wetting my hair gave me the thought
Wetting his hair inspired a new idea.

That a swim in that big tank might cool me down
He believed that taking a swim in the big tank would help him cool off.

So I shucked my duds and hung 'em on the fence
He took off his clothes and hung them on the fence.

Climbed the wires to reach the rim
He climbed up the wires to get to the top of the tank.

Pulled myself on up and jumped right in
He hauled himself up and then jumped into the tank.

The water was cool down underneath
The water beneath the surface was pleasantly cool.

But deeper than I thought it'd be
The water was deeper than he anticipated.

There was no ladder and the walls were slick with moss
The walls of the tank were slippery with moss, and there was no ladder to climb out.

Sure enough I got cooled down
Jumping into the tank cooled him off as he'd hoped.

When I found I had no way out
Once he realized he was stuck, he realized he had no way out.

And the thought of a rat in a feed bin chilled my blood
Thinking about the possibility of a rat in the tank scared him.

Well, at first I laughed at the fix I was in
Initially, he found humor in his predicament.

Then my troubles all sank in
But soon he became aware of the seriousness of the situation.

Without some help I was there to stay
He realized that he was stuck unless someone helped him.

I screamed and clawed to no avail
He tried to scream and claw his way out, but it didn't work.

Till dignity and voice had failed
He continued trying until he lost his sense of dignity and his voice.

I wore my fingers down on those damned walls
He kept scratching at the walls, which resulted in his fingers getting sore.

I marked the time with the windmill's shade
He used the windmill's shade to tell time.

Passing cross my mossy grave
He imagined his body being discovered there years later, covered in moss.

And the cows coming to water twice a day
He pictured the cows visiting the water trough twice a day like clockwork.

I always figured lightning strike
He assumed that he would die from a lightning strike.

Or rattlesnake or barroom fight
He thought that death by rattlesnake bite or in a bar fight were also possibilities.

Would do me in, not some Mexican rose
He never thought he'd die from something as ordinary as jumping into a tank.

The fact is I was hot and dumb
He realizes now that he wasn't thinking straight when he jumped into the tank.

Struck stupid by the sun and love
He believes that the combination of the sun and his feelings for Carmella made him act recklessly.

So on the one hand I guess she'd played her part
He thinks that Carmella is partly to blame for his predicament.

Through all that time I cussed her lots
He spent a lot of time cursing Carmella.

But I cussed myself the most because
Ultimately, he holds himself the most responsible for his situation.

I had not looked before I leapt
He realizes that he acted impulsively without considering the consequences.

Now overhead an eagle soars
He sees an eagle flying overhead.

And I smell rain coming from the north
He smells rain coming from the north.

I wonder if she'll even shed one tear
He wonders if Carmella will care that he's in trouble.

Just one tear over me
He hopes that Carmella cares enough to shed at least one tear for him.