Calexico
ballad of cable hogue Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

(feat. Marianne Dissard)

I live out yonder where the snakes and scorpions run
got myself a little goldmine to bank on
but one day my heart sank when i saw madame in town
i knew her love would be the death of mine

l'amour passait, l'amour obsolète
pourquoi perdre sa vie à chercher l'or d'un coeur?
je ne me noierai pas dans ce désert mystique
je ferme mes comptes et je repars
love is passé and love is obsolete
some spend their whole lives searching for a heart of gold
i'm tired of treading water in this desert mystique
i'm cashing in my chips before i ride

do me a favor while i'm hanging here
take this gold and go and hide
(don't twist too hard darlin' on your hangin' rope)
don't worry i'll be free in no time

she promised me she would be there when i'd return
she didn't say she'd have a whole army there as well
she whispered, "j'taime baby"; as she fired that gun at me
(it's getting late and i'm running out of time)
i should've stayed way out yonder
better off with the scorpions and snakes
every act which has no heart will be found out in the end
guess i'm a little late this time




cause her love would be the death of mine
mine, all mine.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Calexico" tell the story of a man who lives a solitary life in the desert, where he discovered a small gold mine to sustain himself. However, his mundane existence gets disrupted when he goes to town and falls in love with a woman named Madame. Despite knowing that her love would be the death of him, he is unable to resist her charm. The song's central theme revolves around the idea that one can't keep searching for love their entire life just like people can't keep looking for gold in the desert. The singer resigns himself to his desolate fate and decides to pack up and leave before it's too late.


The song is punctuated by French phrases that highlight the singer's state of mind. "L'amour passait, L'amour obsolete" translates to "Love has passed, Love is obsolete" which captures the singer's weariness of the inconsistency of love. The singer also says, "Je ne me noierai pas dans ce désert mystique" which means "I won't drown in this mystical desert." This statement follows the earlier one and underlines his desire to move away from his current lifestyle.


Line by Line Meaning

I live out yonder where the snakes and scorpions run
I live in a place where dangerous animals like snakes and scorpions are common.


got myself a little goldmine to bank on
I found a small gold mine which I intend to use to improve my life.


but one day my heart sank when i saw madame in town
One day I became sad when I saw Madame in town.


i knew her love would be the death of mine
I knew that her love would eventually destroy me.


l'amour passait, l'amour obsolète
Love is transient and becoming irrelevant.


pourquoi perdre sa vie à chercher l'or d'un coeur?
Why waste your life looking for someone with a heart of gold?


je ne me noierai pas dans ce désert mystique
I won't drown myself in this mystical desert.


je ferme mes comptes et je repars
I'm closing my accounts and leaving.


love is passé and love is obsolete
Love is outdated and no longer relevant.


some spend their whole lives searching for a heart of gold
Some people spend their entire lives looking for someone who is pure at heart.


i'm tired of treading water in this desert mystique
I'm tired of not making any progress in this mystical desert.


i'm cashing in my chips before i ride
I'm selling all my belongings and leaving before it's too late.


do me a favor while i'm hanging here
Please help me out while I'm in a difficult situation.


take this gold and go and hide
Take this gold and run away to a safe place.


(don't twist too hard darlin' on your hangin' rope)
Please be careful and don't accidentally harm me while trying to help.


don't worry i'll be free in no time
Don't worry, I'll be out of danger soon.


she promised me she would be there when i'd return
She promised me that she would be waiting for me when I came back.


she didn't say she'd have a whole army there as well
She didn't mention that she would have an entire army with her.


she whispered, "j'taime baby"; as she fired that gun at me
She said "I love you baby" while shooting a gun at me.


(it's getting late and i'm running out of time)
I'm in a hurry and don't have much time left.


i should've stayed way out yonder
I should have stayed far away from here.


better off with the scorpions and snakes
It's better to be with dangerous animals like scorpions and snakes than with someone who doesn't have a good heart.


every act which has no heart will be found out in the end
Actions taken without compassion will eventually result in negative consequences.


guess i'm a little late this time
I've discovered this truth too late.


cause her love would be the death of mine
Her supposed love would have eventually caused my downfall.


mine, all mine.
The gold that I've found belongs to me and no one else.




Contributed by Caroline T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

tsavman

για roadtrip, στο repeat αυτό το τραγούδι!

April Sandmeyer

This video made me smile, missing Tucson and Calexico. Just seeing it for the first time. Didn't know Mirianne Dissard was in a Calexico video. I've been stuck in NY too long! :)

Sansmesonge

I saw them live last year, amazing, the drumer and singer were so tight.

Jan Stadelmann

Hi

Tommy Bohman

This song has been a favorite since "Hot Rail" was released and the title captured my attention at once. Sam Peckinpah did a 1970 Western with the same title. A marvellous film.
Please try to find Paul Seydor's "Peckinpah: The Western Films - A Reconsideration" (1997).
David Weddle, who wrote the foreword to this classic, called it "one of the finest pieces of film criticism ever written."

I have always loved the Latin influenced Spanish titles with trumpets and all: "El Picador", "Muleta", and "Tres Avisos" - brilliant stuff! I like to play them in succession.

Victor Sandoval

I actually like it, it sounds very original xD good job guys!

Johnny Dub

Fantastic............Definitely One Of Their Best!!!

ecki444

what a wonderful song!

Les Allumettes - Toulouse

Magnifique ! Et la voix de Marianne Dissard...... Quel morceau !

EmilBrothers Media

Amazing Song with a suspensfull story and a perfect short movie musicvideo. Real art!

More Comments

More Versions