Red Moon Rising

There’s blood from Guanajuato runnin' in Grandfather’s veins
It fills the belt he bought from Michoacán, forever etched into his skin
And they tell me that the same blood is running all around inside of me
And I believe it. I believe it. My blood speaks Spanish to me
Grandmother’s from El Salvador, but we all grew up east of LA
Where chili lime just costs a dime and coco water’s more plentiful than rain
Grandma says I’ve got a cactus stem nailed to the top of my head
But she says not to worry -- the Virgin Mary likes me that way, yeah
Oh, I know
In me
There’s a red moon risin', yeah
Oh, I know
In me
A coyote’s smilin' at the red moon risin'
I can close my eyes and see the living room that sits three thousand miles away
Oh it’s the womb where all my cousins grew, the paneling all lined with photos
of saints
Yeah, it’s a temple on a cul-de-sac, where innocence and refuge meet
Mufflin' out the choir of car alarms so tired little children can sleep
Oh, I know
In me
There’s a red moon risin', yeah
Oh, I know
In me
A coyote’s smilin' at the red moon risin'
When I left that place, I felt as though my accent didn’t sound the same
And that I’d never get it back
I have a new part to play, it’s the sort of thing that happens when you come of
age
But even in the midst of all this change for me
I will never forget where I come from
I know
In me
There’s a red moon risin', yeah
Oh, I know
In me
A coyote’s smilin' at the red moon risin'