She left a lipstick

letter on the mirror

shattered on the

bathroom floor

All I could put

back together was,

never see me no more

Took all her clothes,

but one red dress

The one she knows

I like the best

All I could do was

clean up the mess

and wonder where

she had gone

I had a sky blue

ragtop Mustang,

nineteen sixty four

She drove it off

into the night

'til it just wouldn't

go no more

She caught a ride

on into town

Bought some gas and

laid the top down

And she burned that

pony to the ground

on the desert

in New Mexico

When Rita leaves,

Rita's gone

She gave me every chance

a man could want

I've never known

a love so strong

or so crazy when

she's been done wrong

When Rita leaves,

Rita's gone

I put a call into

her Mamasita

back in El Paso

She said she got

the story from Rita

on her way to Mexico

Her Mama knew I

was takin' it hard

Said she was sorry

about my car

She said you're

lucky all she broke

was your heart

You better just

let her go

When Rita leaves,

Rita's gone

She gave me every chance

a man could want

I've never known

a love so strong

or so crazy when

she's been done wrong

When Rita leaves,

Rita's gone

She never gave me a

chance to explain

Hell, I guess it doesn't

much matter now anyway

When Rita leaves,

Rita's gone

When Rita leaves,

Rita's gone