by the time i get to phoenix she'll be rising
she'll find the note i left hangin' on her door
she'll laugh when she reads the part that says i'm leavin'
'cause i've left that girl so many times before.

by the time i make albuquerque she'll be working
she'll probably stop at lunch and give me a call
but she'll just hear that phone keep on ringin'
off the wall that's all.

by the time i make oklahoma she'll be sleepin'
she'll turn softly and call my name out loud
and she'll cry just to think i'd really leave her
tho' time and time i try to tell her so
she just didn't know i would really go.