Born in the heat of the desert My mother died giving me life Despised and disliked by my father Blamed for the loss of his wife You know Lord I've been to a prison For something that I'd never done It's been one hill after another And I've climbed them Lord, one by one But this time you gave me a mountain A mountain I may never climb It isn't a hill any longer You gave me a mountain this time My woman got tired of the hardships Tired of the grief and the strife Tired of working for nothing Tired of being my wife She took my one ray of sunshine She took my pride and my joy She took my reason for living She took my small baby boy And this time you gave me a mountain A mountain I may never climb It isn't a hill any longer You gave me a mountain this time