My name is Juan Hano de Castro
My father was a Spanish Grandee
But I won my wife in a card game
To hell with those lords o'er the seaIn my youth I had a Monterey homestead
Creeks, valleys, mountains all mine
I built me a snug little cabin
And I roofed it with Monterey pineAnd I had me a bronc, was a buckskin
Like a hawk he could glide over the trail
We rode 40 miles every Friday
To get me some grub and my mailBut the South Coast is a wild coast and lonely
You may win a card game in Jolon
But the lion still rules the Barranca
And a man there is always alone
I sat in a card game at Jolon
I played there with an hombre named Juan
And after I'd taken his money
He set all against my daughter DawnI picked up the ace... I had won her
My heart which was down at my feet
Jumped up to my throat in a hurry
Like a warm summer's day she was sweetHe opened the door to the kitchen
And he called the girl out with a curse
Saying "Take her, Goddamn her, you've won her
She's yours now for better or worse"Yeah the South Coast is a wild coast and lonely
You may win a card game in Jolon
But the lion still rules the Barranca
And a man there is always alone
Her arms had to tighten around me
As we rode up the hill from the south
Not a word did I hear from her that day
Or a kiss from her pretty red mouthWe got to the cabin at twilight
And the stars twinkled over the coast
She soon loved the orchard, the valley
But I knew that she loved me the mostOh that was a gay happy winter
I carved on a cradle of pine
By a fire in that snug little shanty
I sang with that sweet wife of mineBut the South Coast is a wild coast and lonely
You may win a card game in Jolon
But the lion still rules the Barranca
And a man there is always aloneAnd then I got hurt in a landslide
Crushed hip and twice broken bone
She saddled up Buck just like lightning
Rode off for a doctor in JolonBut the lion screamed in the Barranca
Bucky he bolted and he fell on a slide
My young wife lay dead in the moonlight
My heart died that night with my brideOh the South Coast is a wild coast and lonely
You may win a card game at Jolon
But the lion still rules the Barranca
And a man there is always aloneThey buried her out in the orchard
They carried me down into town
I lost my Chiquita, me?
I'm an old broken man all aloneThe cabin still stands on the hillside
Its doors open wide to the rain
Both the cradle and my heart are empty
I never can go there again
Yeah the South Coast is a wild coast and lonely
You may win a card game at Jolon
But the lion still rules the Barranca
And a man there is always alone