Papa Danced On Olvera Street Lyrics

Across the way from Union Station is our family's favorite stand
You can take a seat and eat and drink, hear the mariachi bands
L.A.'s oldest road is a marketplace run by charming and kind Latinos
You'll ignore faint scents of sewage once you've tasted them taquitos

There was that day the world seemed brighter, the hot green sauce a little hotter
(You know you've got a good batch when your eyes begin to water)
And I believe God laughed along with our surprise at happy feet
Papa stood straight up and did a little dance there on old Olvera Street

Couldn't help himself 'cos the day was warm and the company was sweet
And strangers laughed, too, at the sight that made our day complete
With his family gathered on Father's Day, his love ran wide and deep
And Papa said so with his little dance down on old Olvera Street

Above us loomed Avila Adobe, oldest house in Los Angeles
Did I really see that second sight that nearly brought me to my knees?
Encarnacion Abela, Francisco the Rancher's grieving widow watching Papa dance
I swear her sad ghost smiled there in that upper-story window

She couldn't help herself 'cos the day was warm and the sight was oh so sweet
The crowd laughed, too, at the joyous soul who made our day complete
With his family gathered on Father's Day, Dad's love ran wide and deep
And he said so with his little dance down on old Olvera Street

In a world that wounds us time to time
That glimpse of grace is so sublime
And though the Angels now live in Anaheim
They flew in for just a peak
At that miracle of the Fandango
Down on old Olvera Street

And heaven knows I love that man
He's more than half of who I am
It's the thing I'm beginning to understand
I wish my heart had moved my feet
And I had joined my Daddy when he danced that day
Down on old Olvera Street