"Mexicali Blues" is a song from Bob Weir's 1972 ''

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'' solo album that, like the rest of the material on that record, was ''de facto'' by the Grateful Dead. Indeed, it appears on the 1974 '' Skeletons from the Closet: The Best of Grateful Dead'' compilation. "Mexicali Blues" was written by Bob Weir and lyricist

John Perry Barlow John Perry Barlow (October 3, 1947February 7, 2018) was an American poet, essayist, cattle rancher, and cyberlibertarian political activist who had been associated with both the Democratic and Republican parties. He was also a lyricist for th ...

. This was the first songwriting collaboration for Weir and Barlow. Barlow has noted that Weir had an idea for a " cowboy song" and asked Barlow to write the lyrics after Robert Hunter declined. Weir would soon switch to using Barlow rather than Hunter for the bulk of his songwriting. The song concerns a man who had recently ridden to

Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000,0 ...

, Mexico from Bakersfield, California. There over a bottle of booze, he thinks back upon his meeting a girl named "Billie Jean" and falling under her spell; she later appeals to the narrator to shoot a stranger when she tells him that unless he uses his gun to prevent it, the stranger will take her away. He does shoot and kill the stranger (who never even drew his gun), and then flees to Mexico rather than face hanging for his crime. The song echos "

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

" by

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

, in which a cowboy shoots a man in a jealous rage over a Mexican girl and then flees to avoid hanging. Phil Lesh provides the harmony vocal. When performed live, the harmony vocals evolved over time. During the early 1970s, Phil Lesh provided harmony vocals. After the band's 1975 hiatus, lead guitarist Jerry Garcia took over the harmonizing vocals (Phil Lesh stopped most of his singing during this time due to vocal strain). When the band restructured in 1979 with the departure of Keith and Donna Godcheaux and the welcoming of

Brent Mydland Brent Mydland (October 21, 1952 – July 26, 1990) was an American keyboardist and singer. He was a member of the rock band The Grateful Dead from 1979 to 1990, a longer tenure than any other keyboardist in the band. Growing up in Concord ...

at keyboards, which would define the sound of the band throughout the 1980s, Mydland took over harmonizing vocals from Garcia, enabling Garcia to play lead guitar during the song's refrain. Additionally, the second instrumental break in the song was extended, allowing for more improvisation.

References

Grateful Dead songs Songs written by Bob Weir 1972 songs {{1970s-country-song-stub