Escrita por Bob Dylan e Jacques Levy, foi gravada em 28 de julho de 1975, nos estúdios da Columbia Records, em New York City e lançada no disco Desire, em 5 de janeiro de 1976. O refrão tem frases cantadas em espanhol. É uma história que se passa em Durango, no México, com um bandido e sua amante em fuga, com xerife e matadores de aluguel no encalço deles. Porém, o personagem principal é perseguido pela morte de um amigo próximo chamado Ramon. A Rolling Stone magazine disse que era a música de número 79 das 100 greatest Bob Dylan songs. Raimundo Fagner gravou uma versão em português chamada Romance no deserto.
A letra:
Hot
chili peppers in the blistering sun
Dust on my face and my cape
Me
and Magdalena on the run
I think this time we shall escape
Sold my guitar to the baker's son
For
a few crumbs and a place to hide
But I can get another one
And
I'll play for Magdalena as we ride
No llores, mi querida
Dios nos
vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango
Agarrame, mi
vida
Soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the
fandango
Past the Aztec ruins and the ghosts of
our people
Hoofbeats like castanets on stone
At night I dream
of bells in the village steeple
Then I see the bloody face of
Ramon
Was it me that shot him down in the
cantina
Was it my hand that held the gun?
Come, let us fly, my
Magdalena
The dogs are barking and what's done is done
No llores, mi querida
Dios nos
vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango
Agarrame, mi
vida
Soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the
fandango
At the corrida we'll sit in the
shade
And watch the young torero stand alone
We'll drink
tequila where our grandfathers stayed
When they rode with Villa
into Torreon
Then the padre will recite the prayers
of old
In the little church this side of town
I will wear new
boots and an earring of gold
You'll shine with diamonds in your
wedding gown
The way it is long but the end is
near
Already the fiesta has begun
The face of God will
appear
With his serpent eyes of obsidian
No llores, mi querida
Dios nos
vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango
Agarrame, mi
vida
Soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the
fandango
Was that the thunder that I heard?
My
head is vibrating, I feel a sharp pain
Come sit by me, don't say a
word
Oh, can it be that I am slain?
Quick, Magdalena, take my gun
Look
up in the hills, that flash of light
Aim well, my little one
We
may not make it through the night
No llores, mi querida
Dios nos
vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango.
Agarrame, mi
vida
Soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the
fandango
A versão de Bob Dylan:
A versão de Weathermen:
A versão de Aileen and Sticks:
