His father died of drinking and left five children sinking with his mom 
His older brother Bobby never made it back from Viet Nam 
With high school well behind him he lives at home and works this shitty job 
And he thinks his '60 Chevy is the only true amigo that he's got 
His heart is filled with sadness and his soul is like some ugly vacant lot 

Mary Estelle Hanna came out from Louisiana for the sun 
A deal gone bad in Dallas left her burned and broken on the run 
To make the rent and groceries she takes this job at three-fifteen an hour 
Serving shots of whiskey and tequila in some smoky red-neck bar 
And she dreams some day she'll make her way to L.A. and become a movie star 

Tony saw her working, he swallowed hard and asked her for a date 
Mary laughed and answered; I would but every night I'm working late
He said he had some cocaine that she could have if she'd just ride along 
She said; What the hell, I may as well, I haven't had no fun in so damn long
He picked her up at closing time they pulled out on the road and they were gone 

Tony's mom got frantic when she found her son had not come home 
Mary's roommate panicked and called the sheriff from a public phone 
They asked her lots of questions, She tried her best to tell them what she saw 
And late that night they found poor Mary lying in some narrow, dusty draw 
And the coroner reported that she hadn't been deceased for very long 

Two weeks on they found it buried to the windshield in the sand 
There inside lay Tony with a small revolver in his hand 
The papers simply stated it must have been the drugs that drove him mad 
And the neighbors speculated what could make a good boy go so bad 
Well, it might have been the desert heat 
It might have been the home he never had

~~~ Dan Fogelberg ~~~