Adelita

Bruce Springsteen

Compositor: Bruce Springsteen / Maria Herrea-Sobek

In the High Sierras, camped were the soldiers
And a young soldada who valiantly fought
Side by side with Francisco Villa
Adelita

Far from my home now, a Texacan soldier
It s not for fortune or risk to the battlefield I fight
I fell in love with Adelita with my very soul
We ll stand in arms this night

She said: Johnny, if I should die in battle
And my body be left in the Sierranea
My love, my love, in God s name
Fight on, and remember me
That my blood will not have been spilled in vain

On horseback, a carbine full and at her side
Over her blouse, cartridges filled her bandoleras
Side by side, into battle we rode, Villistas
My Adelita

We met the enemy in the Zamoran mountains
From their bullets, many of our soldiers died
And wounded, I lay fallen with my comrades
As Adelita stood above us
Firing her rifle til the gunpowder turned her hand black

And the sky was blue, neath the cannon the earth trembled
Watched as a bullet pierced my love s side
She fell amidst the brothers and sisters
Smoke and empty sky in her eyes

Adelita, my love, Adelita, my wife
Adelita, my comrade, my life
They ll remember your name when freedom fills the Sierranea
I ll remember the warmth of your skin against mine

Tonight, I lay in the mountains with the campesinos
My mind at peace from the vows I ve made
I know I ll never see Texas again

Your portrait I carry deep in my breast pocket
My rifle firing into the campaña, I ride with you round my heart
Protected from this death by beauty