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The Old Mission Lyrics
She visits the place that the tour groups must have
She's shocked to find somebody there
With a sun-beaten face, and a silver-grey head
He knelt on the floor unaware
He said "I'm sorry madam" as he lent her his hand
"I know I must be a strange sight
But I've been coming here for some thirty odd years
Ever since my sweet lady died
But I sure am glad you listened
Oh, I sure am glad you came
I've been waiting here in this mission
Ever since that day"
Oh, that summer we met, only fools could forget
Just how perfect a woman could be
By the time she was late, we had both set a date
In a place where she would marry me
But a gringo meant shame to their proud family name
And her father forbade it to be
So in less than a week, they found her by the creek
And the parents blamed it all on me
But I sure am glad you listened
And I sure am glad you came
I've been waiting here in this mission
Ever since that day
Well, her name was Marie
And the day she met me
Was the worst day of both of our lives
If it wasn't for me, I would truly believe
My sweetheart could still be alive
She said "Darling, believe. Don't you recognize me?
Though you waited here all of this time
They had shipped me away to my family in Spain
We can get on with our lives
Yeah, we still have plenty of time
'Cause I sure am glad I listened
Oh, I sure am glad I came
I made looking for you my mission
Ever since that day
Oh, I sure am glad you listened
Oh, I sure am glad you came
I've been waiting here in this mission
Ever since that day
And I sure am glad you listened
Oh, I sure am glad you came
I've been waiting here in this mission
Ever since that day
"May God bless you, have a good day"
She's shocked to find somebody there
With a sun-beaten face, and a silver-grey head
He knelt on the floor unaware
"I know I must be a strange sight
But I've been coming here for some thirty odd years
Ever since my sweet lady died
But I sure am glad you listened
Oh, I sure am glad you came
I've been waiting here in this mission
Ever since that day"
Just how perfect a woman could be
By the time she was late, we had both set a date
In a place where she would marry me
And her father forbade it to be
So in less than a week, they found her by the creek
And the parents blamed it all on me
And I sure am glad you came
I've been waiting here in this mission
Ever since that day
And the day she met me
Was the worst day of both of our lives
If it wasn't for me, I would truly believe
My sweetheart could still be alive
Though you waited here all of this time
They had shipped me away to my family in Spain
We can get on with our lives
Yeah, we still have plenty of time
Oh, I sure am glad I came
I made looking for you my mission
Ever since that day
Oh, I sure am glad you came
I've been waiting here in this mission
Ever since that day
Oh, I sure am glad you came
I've been waiting here in this mission
Ever since that day
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Ok, the lyrics are wrong It's' "so in less than a week, They found her by the creek". The parents lied to him and sent her to Spain. So he thought she was dead, but kept coming to the Mission in hopes of seeing her. So I'm guessing he's shocked as hell when she comes back.
I was under the impression that she was pregnant when it said she was late.
this is what i could make from the live version found on http://www.siue.edu/~msecor/
I'm trying to connect the pieces between Marie being found by a creek and meeting her lover at the mission.
little correction..
by the time she was late, we had both set a date in a place where she would marry me
I'm wondering what the meaning of "found her by the creek" is. Does it mean what first comes to mind, they found her body by a creek? Or does it mean something else, and the woman first referred to in the song is actually Marie, who came back to the mission and found him?
it sounds like he thought the girl he fell in love with died, and he sees another woman who he falls for, but it turns out to be the same woman?
seems to me he thought she was dead but actually her family sent her to Spain so they couldn't get married ("but a gringo brought shame to their proud family name... They had shipped me away to my family in Spain") but she made her way back and they are reunited ("She said "Darling, believe. Don't you recognize me?... we can get on with our lives, we still have plenty of time")
It seems to me that there is lot of confusion about what happened when it says they found her by the creek in less than a week. I got that the parents told the man that she was dead and blamed him but had secretly shipped her off to her family in spain. The rest was fairly obvious.
Thank You For Listening -Ryan
Hm, my thoughts are that the family disliked the man and told him that she'd been found dead by the creek. Then they sent her to Spain to hide her from him and made things up to give him a hard time. I dunno, seems to make a little sense.
Unless the woman he's seeing now is a ghost and they shipped her body to Spain to be buried...
i agree with notfalling, i'm not sure if she's a ghost or if the family made things up, but either way it s a beautifully done song
Thank You For Listening -Ryan
also it's not the live version on that site, thats the album version