Chuck Brodsky La Migra Viene
The mornings were chilly
The air was crisp
As a Striped or a Red
Or a Golden Delicious
A couple of tortillas
Coffee with rum
By the time the sun came up
You'd have half a bin done
The trees were like temples
Was a holiness to ‘em
You'd pick out the bottoms
& Then all the way through ‘em
Up on a ladder
Out on a limb
The trees were like temples
I liked being in ‘em
Fernando amazed me
He was the quickest
18 bins
In a day he could do
I got 9 once
But that was with big fruit
I worked only as hard as
I needed to
Sometimes, though
On the nicest of days
Somebody would whistle
And my friends would run away
They were yelling...
La Migra, La Migra
La Migra viene
Andele! Andele!
Run! Run!
They leapt from their ladders
To the next nearest orchard
Spreading the word
That La Migra was coming
My Spanish was stiff
A little too formal
I cracked ‘em up
& They taught me to cuss
And you can bet I was cussing
When they all went a' running
You can bet I was cussing
At the big yellow bus
The vans brought ‘em in ‘till the
Bus was all loaded
Sometimes whole families
At least you'd have thought...
They'd be back the next week
Up on their ladders
Giving new names
The next time they got caught
Sometimes, though
On the nicest of days
Somebody would whistle
And my friends would run away
They were yelling...
La Migra La Migra
La Migra viene
Andele! Andele!
Run! Run!
They leapt from their ladders
To the next nearest orchard
Spreading the word
That La Migra was coming