According to Stereogum.com, Steve Earle and Los Lobos are both roots-music institutions who have been leaving their respective marks on the world since at least the ’80s, and they’ve got a lot of shared history. Over the years, Earle and Los Lobos have toured together and they have shared many stages, but they’ve never collaborated until now. Today, both men join forces r on “Volver A Celaya,” which is a new song that Earle wrote from the perspective of a Mexican-born construction worker who has spent most of his life in the US and who now plans to return to his homeland.

Last year, Earle taught songwriting workshops in Brooklyn, and that’s when he wrote it. He’s been performing it live since then. It’s a tough, pretty, heartfelt piece of work, and there’s a whole lot of empathy built into it. Earle and Los Lobos recorded the song together in Richmond, Virginia earlier this summer, with Los Lobos member Steve Berlin producing. The character speaking to you in this song is based on guys that I worked with framing houses, right after I dropped out of high school in 1971. At first I worked with other guys who looked like me — anglos on crews that worked from 7:00 a.m. til 3:30 and then knocked off and headed to the nearest beer joint,” said the artist.

Earle adds: “Minimum wage was $1.60 an hour, and I never took home a check bigger than 85 bucks — until I discovered Mexican crews worked from “can’t see to can’t see,” sometimes putting in 50, even 55 hours a week. Shortly after starting with those guys, I held a hundred dollars in my hand for the first time in my life. It was simply a different way of thinking about making a living. These guys put in all the hours they could, brought the money home to their family on the westside — or back across the border to Mexico. I didn’t mind working late because, as far as I knew, nothing cool happened ‘til dark anyway.”

Photo Credit: Nicole Sacks