A girl cries in the early morning
Woken by the sound of a gun
She knows somewhere somebody's dying
Beneath the rising sun
Outside the window of her cabaña
The shadows are full of her fears
She knows her lover is out there somewhere
He's been on the run for a year

Oh, the soul of El Salvador

The bells ring out in the chapel steeple
A priest prepares to say mass
The sad congregation come tired and hungry
To pray that troubles will pass
Meanwhile the sun rises over the dusty streets
Where the crowd gathers round
Flies and mosquitoes are drinking from pools of blood
Where his body is found

Oh, the soul of El Salvador

Out on the ranch the rich man's preparing
To go for his morning ride
They've saddled his horse out in the corral
He walks out full of pride
He looks like a cowboy in one of those pictures
A president made in the past
Peasants in rags, they stand back for they know
That El Rico gallops fast
Over the soul of El Salvador