there s trouble on the street tonight i can feel it in my bones i had a premonition that he should not go alone i knew the gun was loaded but i didn t think he d kill everything exploded and the blood began to spill so baby here s your ticket put the suitcase in your hand here s a little money now do it just the way we planned you be cool for twenty hours and i ll pay you twenty grand i m sorry it went down like this someone had to lose it s the nature of the business it s the smuggler s blues smuggler s blues the sailors and the pilots the soldiers and the law the payoffs and the ripoffs and the things nobody saw no matter if it s heroin cocaine or hash you ve got to carry weapons cause you always carry cash there s lots of shady characters lots of dirty deals every name s an alias in case somebody squeals it s the lure of easy money it s gotta very strong appeal perhaps you d understand it better standing in my shoes it s the ultimate enticement it s the smuggler s blues smuggler s blues see it in the headlines you hear it every day they say they re gonna stop it but it doesn t go away they move it through miami sell it in l a they hide it up in telluride i mean it s here to stay it s propping up the governments of columbia and peru you ask any dea man he ll say there s nothing we can do from the office of the president right down to me and you me and you it s a losing proposition but one you can t refuse it s the politics of contraband it s the smuggler s blues smuggler s blues