We came to the mission, they promised us food
The men there said that we should stay and learn to do good
They said the land belonged to god now, we must all obey
They told us to make adobe brick, and how to kneel and pray
These men wore robes of brown and some of them were kind
They let us the light the candles, but we could not drink the wine
Also, there were soldiers with horses and with spears
If they could not rule by love, they would rule by fear
And in my dreams still ring, the mission bell
The oak trees breathe so slowly now, we have to strain to hear them
Before they rang the mission bell, we heard them clearly
And that little creek is dry now, once we camped along the stream
And I wonder, do the sycamores dream?
Of the time before the mission bell
We learned of an angry god who lived inside four walls
And bad things that would happen to those who broke his laws
They taught us holy Spanish there, gave us thin soup to eat
Taught us how to bow our heads and be humble in defeat
They adobe walls are crumbling now, the father's gone away
A handful of my people are all that's left today
My family is all scattered now and I am old and thin
I don't know why those people came, but I'm afraid they'll come again
And in my dreams still ring, the mission bell
The oak trees breathe so slowly now, you have to strain to hear them
Before they rang the mission bell, we heard them clearly
And that little creek is dry now, once we camped along the stream
And I wonder, do the sycamores dream?
Of the time before the mission bell
The time before the mission bell
Oh, the mission bell