The crops are all in and the peaches are rotting
Oranges are piled in their creosote dumps
They're flying them back to the Mexican Border
To pay all their money to wade back again
Goodbye to my Juan, farewell Rosanita
Adios mes amigos, Jesu et Maria
You won't have a name when you ride the big airplane
All they will call you will be deportees
My father's own father he waded that river
Spent all the money he'd made in his life
My brothers and sisters are working your fruit trees
And they rode the truck till they laid down and died
Goodbye to my Juan...
The airplane caught fire over Los Gatos canyon
A fireball of lightning that shook all our hills
Who are these friends who are scattered like dry leaves?
Radio says they are just deportees
Goodbye to my Juan...
Some of us are illegal and some are not wanted
Our work contracts out and we have to move on
Six hundred miles to the Mexico border
They chase us like outlaws, like rustlers, like thieves
Goodbye to my Juan...
We died in your hills, we died in your deserts
We died in your valleys and died on your plains
We died 'neath your trees, we died in your bushes
Both sides of the river, we died just the same
Goodbye to my Juan...
Is this the best way we can farm our great orchards?
Is this the best way we can pick our fresh fruit?
Employing cheap labour from over the border
Labour the radio calls deportees
(Optional ending to last verse):
To fall like dry leaves, to rot on the topsoil
And to be called by no name except deportee
Goodbye to my Juan, farewell Rosanita
Adios mes amigos, Jesu et Maria
You won't have a name when you ride the big airplane
All they will call you will be deportees
Woody Guthrie
Guitar chords for Deportees
C F C The crops are all in and the peaches are rotting F C Oranges are piled in their creosote dumps F C Am They’re flying them back to the Mexican border C F C To pay all their money to wade back a-gain F C Good-bye to my Juan, fare-well Rosanita G C Adi-os mes amigos, Jesu et Ma-ria F C Am You won’t have a name when you ride the big aeroplane C F C All they will call you will be depor-tees