Went down to Mexico on the Fourth of July
I got a tattoo of a moth and a butterfly
Had a little time to burn, a little money to spend
So I bought a switchblade for each of my friends
Pablo and Dan had a plan say
"We gonna get rich"
"Put the double cross
On a double crossin' narco-snitch"
"Just a dirty little two-man job,
But it's a sure-fire win"
"And brother when we cut him down,
We gonna cut you in"

Yeah dumb and drunk as I was
You know I'd do it all again
Back when I bought a switchblade
For each of my friends

They were sharp enough to stab
Another hole in the sky
Hard enough to make the proudest diamond sigh
Faster than the rockets on the Fourth of July
Strong and cruel enough
To make a statue of Mary cry

They said, "Amigo don'tcha worry
Now we gonna disappear
Just for a couple of months"
Now it's been almost a year
Yeah if you want that kind of money,
Man you gotta stay brave
Federales are pullin' bodies out of shallow graves
Yeah dumb and drunk as I was
You know I'd do it all again
Back when I bought a switchblade
For each of my friends
They were sharp enough to stab
Another hole in the sky
Hard enough to make the proudest diamond sigh
Faster than the rockets on the Fourth of July
Strong and cruel enough
To make a statue of Mary cry…

Later in the fall, I got a call, "Boy won'tcha come down."
"Maybe put a name with a few unlucky faces we found"
Now no matter what I do, can't get my heart to mend
Somebody buried a switchblade in each of my friends

Yeah dumb and drunk as I was
You know I'd do it all again
Back when I bought a switchblade
For each of my friends

Dumb and drunk as we was I wish I had that time again
Before I buried a switchblade with each of my friends

They were sharp enough to stab another hole in the sky
Hard enough to make the proudest diamond sigh
Faster than the rockets on the Fourth of July
Strong and cruel enough
To make a statue of Mary cry…