Kingston Trio South Coast Lyrics:
Chorus: South Coast, the wild coast, is lonely.
You may win at the game at Jolon, But the lion
still rules the barranca, and a man there is
always alone.

My name is Juan Hano de Castro. The son of a
Spanish grandee, But I won my wife in a card game,
to Hell with the lords o'er the Sea.

I picked up the ace. I had won her! My heart,
which was down at my feet Jumped up to my throat
in a hurry- Like a warm summers' day, she was
sweet. (Chorus)

Her arms had to tighten around me as we rode up
the hills from the South. Not a word did I hear
from her that day- or a kiss from her pretty red
mouth.

We came to my cabin at twilight. The stars
twinkled out on the coast. She soon loved the
valley- the orchard- but I knew that she loved me
the most. (Chorus)
[ Find more Lyrics on http://mp3lyrics.org/2tue ]

Then I got hurt in a landslide with crushed hip
and twice-broken bone. She saddled our pony like
lightning- rode off in the night, all alone.

The lion screamed in the barranca; the pony fell
back on the slide. My young wife lay dead in the
moonlight. My heart died that night with my bride.
(Chorus) Daughters were possessions, to be bet
away or arranged marriages for; also, note the use
of "young wife" in the final stanza. Her
shyness- "had to tighten"- and her
silent reticence but adaptable "soon
loved..." indicates no previous marriage, and
"lost his daughter to me" indicates her
origin, whereas "to hell with the lords o'er
the sea" seems thrown in. If this man were a
sailor, why would he have established orchards?

Just a thought. I'd really like to see the
original music if it were available. The concept
of betting away a daughter was my first exposure
to the concept of women as property and the sung
stuck with me my whole life. (I was the oldest and
only daughter and I was afraid of the possibility;
I was 9 and the chorus, except for one word, and
the storyline, and the tune have stayed with me
for the last 25 years; it influenced my major
"women's studies")
Lyrics: South Coast, Kingston Trio [end]