Earl Keen, Robert - Mariano Lyrics






The man outside he works for me, his name is Mariano
He cuts and trims the grass for me he makes the flowers bloom
He says that he comes from a place not far from Guanajuato
Thats two days on a bus from here, a lifetime from this room.

I fix his meals and talk to him in my old broken spanish
He points at things and tells me names of things I can't recall
Sometimes I just can't but help but wonder who this man is
And if when he is gone will he'll remember me at all

I watch him close he works just like a piston in an engine
He only stops to take a drink and smoke a cigarette
When the day is ended, I look outside my window
There on the horizon, Mariano's silhouette

He sits upon a stone in a south-easterly direction
I know my charts I know that he is thinking of his home
I've never been the sort to say I'm in to intuition
But I swear I see the faces of the ones he calls his own

Their skin is brown as potters clay, their eyes void of expression
Their hair is black as widow's dreams, their dreams are all but gone
They're ancient as a vision of a sacrificial virgin
Innocent as crying from a baby being born

They hover around a dying flame and pray for his protection
Their prayers are all but answered by his letters in the mail
He sends them colored figures that he cuts from strips of paper
And all his weekly wages, saving nothing for himself

It's been a while since I have seen the face of Mariano
The border guards they came one day and took him far away
I hope that he is safe down there at home in Guanajuato
I worry though I read there's revolution every day





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Earl Keen, Robert Mariano Comments
  1. B.... 6....

    Mariano is impossibly both sitting on a rock facing south east and in front of the sunset, which sets in the west

    B.... 6....

    You cannot visualize a situation where Mariano is sitting on a rock, and he is facing south east, with a sunset at his back? I see... And you actually logged in to youtube and came here to report that it was impossible? I see again. Thank you for your report.

  2. o.... ....

    Thank you for posting the most awesome version of this song....much love to you...

  3. N.... ....

    I LOVE YOU, ROBERT EARL !!!!!!!!!! "TIL THE DAY I DIE, AND FOREVER AFTER !!!!!!!!!

  4. N.... ....

    I love Robert Earl !!!!!! He opened my mind !! He tells the story of his life in these songs !!

  5. C.... D....

    damn. how relevant this is

  6. C.... T....

    Great intro, great song. Best verison!

  7. t.... s....

    thanks for posting, timely

  8. t.... ....

    brilliant song writer

  9. F.... ....

    Thx for putting up the correct version! I found them listed separately so the beautiful transition from one to the other is lost, part is even missing.

  10. A.... P....

    by the way, what is this recording from?  this may be quite rare?  where did you get it?

    A.... P....

    I think this is from "live no. 2 diner" at floores country store.

    A.... P....

    The guitar solo on The Road Goes On Forever on that album is the BEST!!

  11. A.... P....

    my favorite robert keen song.  thanks.  I guess i'm the fourth view.  well, keep it up.  im with you.