| Song | Gustavo |
| Artist | Mark Kozelek |
| Album | Live at Biko |
| Download | Image LRC TXT |
| I wrote a check and I bought an old house | |
| I got a TV and a worn-out couch | |
| Hired a guy named Gustavo and his friends | |
| To fix it up from the foundation | |
| Oh god, those mother******s drove me nuts | |
| With their electrical saws and mariachi music | |
| But they really stepped it up man | |
| And put their backs into it | |
| But they lived pretty far away | |
| They wanted to stay for a couple of months | |
| 'Til the work got done and I said sure | |
| Made ‘em a key and got ‘em a microwave | |
| Gustavo was an illegal immigrant | |
| He took the money that I gave him | |
| And he went and spent it on strippers and casinos | |
| And every once in a while with them I’d go | |
| It gets boring out in the mountains, you know | |
| Chopping wood, falling asleep to the TV snow | |
| Making ground beef tacos | |
| On the top of a potbellied stove | |
| Eating noodles from a Styrofoam cup | |
| Waiting for a ride that never shows up | |
| Walking into town, browsing the windows | |
| Looking at rifles, looking at ammo | |
| At night when everything’s closed | |
| In my wet boots, in my winter clothes | |
| One night they were headed for Tahoe | |
| They asked me along but I said ************* no | |
| 'Cause I was tired and my money was tight | |
| And they just laughed and said alright | |
| And on the way back they got stopped | |
| By a redneck sunnyside highway cop | |
| Gustavo was drunk and had an ounce of pot | |
| And spent the night on a jailhouse cot | |
| They deported him back to Mexico | |
| He called me collect from a Tijuana pay phone | |
| Asking man, could you wire me money? | |
| 2500 for a border coyote | |
| He needed work and he missed his family | |
| But I hung up and I said I’m sorry | |
| But I hung up and I felt uneasy | |
| I hung up and my heart was heavy | |
| I hung up and my back was aching | |
| Picking up the work they’d left in front of me | |
| The demoed walls and the pulled up floors | |
| The busted up cabinets and the broken drawers | |
| The kitchen sink was laying in the backyard | |
| And I looked down and my hands were trembling | |
| And I looked up and my roof was leaking | |
| Now I still sleep on my beat-up old couch | |
| In the living room of my unfinished house | |
| I got a licensed contractor | |
| But he quit cause his wife was dying of cancer | |
| But what the hell, I’m just here trying to find answers | |
| To find peace of mind, to get a piece of the rock | |
| A place to put my mental clock | |
| And my old guitars and gently rock | |
| Back and forth in my front porch chair | |
| Without a worry, without a care | |
| I’m doing alright but I’m still not there | |
| My house ain’t done, but it’s alright | |
| Floors ain’t level, but I ain’t some suburban | |
| Who cares about bathroom tiles | |
| Straight lines and building codes and Chinese wind chimes | |
| My house ain’t done, but it’s fine | |
| Come out here from time to time | |
| In December for the snow | |
| And in July to watch the roses | |
| My gardener asks had I seen Gustavo? | |
| I just laughed and I said ************* no | |
| Not since that night he left | |
| His hair combed back, headed for Tahoe | |
| My girlfriend asked had I heard from that guy from Mexico? | |
| I said you mean Gustavo? | |
| And I just laughed and I said no | |
| Not since he called from the Tijuana pay phone | |
| Really I don’t give much thought to Gustavo | |
| I love to go out to the mountains, though | |
| And in the fall, feel the breeze blow | |
| And in the winter, watch the falling snow | |
| And in the spring, love the rainbows | |
| And in the summer smell the roses | |
| White and red and yellow |
| I wrote a check and I bought an old house | |
| I got a TV and a wornout couch | |
| Hired a guy named Gustavo and his friends | |
| To fix it up from the foundation | |
| Oh god, those mother s drove me nuts | |
| With their electrical saws and mariachi music | |
| But they really stepped it up man | |
| And put their backs into it | |
| But they lived pretty far away | |
| They wanted to stay for a couple of months | |
| ' Til the work got done and I said sure | |
| Made ' em a key and got ' em a microwave | |
| Gustavo was an illegal immigrant | |
| He took the money that I gave him | |
| And he went and spent it on strippers and casinos | |
| And every once in a while with them I' d go | |
| It gets boring out in the mountains, you know | |
| Chopping wood, falling asleep to the TV snow | |
| Making ground beef tacos | |
| On the top of a potbellied stove | |
| Eating noodles from a Styrofoam cup | |
| Waiting for a ride that never shows up | |
| Walking into town, browsing the windows | |
| Looking at rifles, looking at ammo | |
| At night when everything' s closed | |
| In my wet boots, in my winter clothes | |
| One night they were headed for Tahoe | |
| They asked me along but I said no | |
| ' Cause I was tired and my money was tight | |
| And they just laughed and said alright | |
| And on the way back they got stopped | |
| By a redneck sunnyside highway cop | |
| Gustavo was drunk and had an ounce of pot | |
| And spent the night on a jailhouse cot | |
| They deported him back to Mexico | |
| He called me collect from a Tijuana pay phone | |
| Asking man, could you wire me money? | |
| 2500 for a border coyote | |
| He needed work and he missed his family | |
| But I hung up and I said I' m sorry | |
| But I hung up and I felt uneasy | |
| I hung up and my heart was heavy | |
| I hung up and my back was aching | |
| Picking up the work they' d left in front of me | |
| The demoed walls and the pulled up floors | |
| The busted up cabinets and the broken drawers | |
| The kitchen sink was laying in the backyard | |
| And I looked down and my hands were trembling | |
| And I looked up and my roof was leaking | |
| Now I still sleep on my beatup old couch | |
| In the living room of my unfinished house | |
| I got a licensed contractor | |
| But he quit cause his wife was dying of cancer | |
| But what the hell, I' m just here trying to find answers | |
| To find peace of mind, to get a piece of the rock | |
| A place to put my mental clock | |
| And my old guitars and gently rock | |
| Back and forth in my front porch chair | |
| Without a worry, without a care | |
| I' m doing alright but I' m still not there | |
| My house ain' t done, but it' s alright | |
| Floors ain' t level, but I ain' t some suburban | |
| Who cares about bathroom tiles | |
| Straight lines and building codes and Chinese wind chimes | |
| My house ain' t done, but it' s fine | |
| Come out here from time to time | |
| In December for the snow | |
| And in July to watch the roses | |
| My gardener asks had I seen Gustavo? | |
| I just laughed and I said no | |
| Not since that night he left | |
| His hair combed back, headed for Tahoe | |
| My girlfriend asked had I heard from that guy from Mexico? | |
| I said you mean Gustavo? | |
| And I just laughed and I said no | |
| Not since he called from the Tijuana pay phone | |
| Really I don' t give much thought to Gustavo | |
| I love to go out to the mountains, though | |
| And in the fall, feel the breeze blow | |
| And in the winter, watch the falling snow | |
| And in the spring, love the rainbows | |
| And in the summer smell the roses | |
| White and red and yellow |
| I wrote a check and I bought an old house | |
| I got a TV and a wornout couch | |
| Hired a guy named Gustavo and his friends | |
| To fix it up from the foundation | |
| Oh god, those mother s drove me nuts | |
| With their electrical saws and mariachi music | |
| But they really stepped it up man | |
| And put their backs into it | |
| But they lived pretty far away | |
| They wanted to stay for a couple of months | |
| ' Til the work got done and I said sure | |
| Made ' em a key and got ' em a microwave | |
| Gustavo was an illegal immigrant | |
| He took the money that I gave him | |
| And he went and spent it on strippers and casinos | |
| And every once in a while with them I' d go | |
| It gets boring out in the mountains, you know | |
| Chopping wood, falling asleep to the TV snow | |
| Making ground beef tacos | |
| On the top of a potbellied stove | |
| Eating noodles from a Styrofoam cup | |
| Waiting for a ride that never shows up | |
| Walking into town, browsing the windows | |
| Looking at rifles, looking at ammo | |
| At night when everything' s closed | |
| In my wet boots, in my winter clothes | |
| One night they were headed for Tahoe | |
| They asked me along but I said no | |
| ' Cause I was tired and my money was tight | |
| And they just laughed and said alright | |
| And on the way back they got stopped | |
| By a redneck sunnyside highway cop | |
| Gustavo was drunk and had an ounce of pot | |
| And spent the night on a jailhouse cot | |
| They deported him back to Mexico | |
| He called me collect from a Tijuana pay phone | |
| Asking man, could you wire me money? | |
| 2500 for a border coyote | |
| He needed work and he missed his family | |
| But I hung up and I said I' m sorry | |
| But I hung up and I felt uneasy | |
| I hung up and my heart was heavy | |
| I hung up and my back was aching | |
| Picking up the work they' d left in front of me | |
| The demoed walls and the pulled up floors | |
| The busted up cabinets and the broken drawers | |
| The kitchen sink was laying in the backyard | |
| And I looked down and my hands were trembling | |
| And I looked up and my roof was leaking | |
| Now I still sleep on my beatup old couch | |
| In the living room of my unfinished house | |
| I got a licensed contractor | |
| But he quit cause his wife was dying of cancer | |
| But what the hell, I' m just here trying to find answers | |
| To find peace of mind, to get a piece of the rock | |
| A place to put my mental clock | |
| And my old guitars and gently rock | |
| Back and forth in my front porch chair | |
| Without a worry, without a care | |
| I' m doing alright but I' m still not there | |
| My house ain' t done, but it' s alright | |
| Floors ain' t level, but I ain' t some suburban | |
| Who cares about bathroom tiles | |
| Straight lines and building codes and Chinese wind chimes | |
| My house ain' t done, but it' s fine | |
| Come out here from time to time | |
| In December for the snow | |
| And in July to watch the roses | |
| My gardener asks had I seen Gustavo? | |
| I just laughed and I said no | |
| Not since that night he left | |
| His hair combed back, headed for Tahoe | |
| My girlfriend asked had I heard from that guy from Mexico? | |
| I said you mean Gustavo? | |
| And I just laughed and I said no | |
| Not since he called from the Tijuana pay phone | |
| Really I don' t give much thought to Gustavo | |
| I love to go out to the mountains, though | |
| And in the fall, feel the breeze blow | |
| And in the winter, watch the falling snow | |
| And in the spring, love the rainbows | |
| And in the summer smell the roses | |
| White and red and yellow |