Across the Borderline Lyrics

There's a place, so I been told,
Every street is paved with gold,
And it's just across the borderline.
When it's time to take your turn,
There's a lesson you must learn:
You could lose more than you ever hope to find.

And when you reach that broken-promise land,
All your dreams flow through your hands.
You will know it's too late to change your mind.
You paid the price to come so far,
Just you wind up where you are,
And you're still just across that borderline.

Up and down the Rio Grande,
A thousand footprints in the sand
Reveal a secret no one can define.
That river rolls on like a breath
In between my life and death.
Tell me, who is next to cross that borderline.

And when you reach that broken-promise land,
And all your dreams flow through your hand.
You know it's too late to change your mind.
'Cause you paid the price to come so far,
Just you wind up where you are,
And you're still just across that borderline.

Yeah, you're still just just across that borderline,
Well, you're still just across that borderline,
Well, yeah, you're still just across that borderline.

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Note:
This song came about when Ry Cooder was asked to write the opening scene song for the Jack Nicholson movie The Border. Cooder wrote the music and the first verse, and then took it to John Hiatt who wrote the lyrics for the chorus. For the final verse, Ry enlisted the Dixie Flyers' Jim Dickinson. Jim said that it was the thrill of his lifetime when he heard that Dylan sang it. He thought that Dylan was the only performer to truly understand his verse.