There's a town south of the border   South of El Paso they say   Where the nights are long and the winds are warm   And the women they love to play   In an old adobe tavern   Mescal flows like water   And Rita will dance on your table so fine   You are bound to place your order   I don't have to think about it   I don't have to wonder   Where I'm going to ride tonight   I'll be riding down the highway south of the border      As I ride into town and the dust settles down   And the mariachi music is playing   I buy me a room from a guy named Luis   It's just up the stairs and it's waiting   Downstairs Rita is dancing   Just the way her mother has taught her   So I settle down for the show and a beer   And wait for that mother's daughter      I don't have to think about it   I don't have to wonder   Where I'm going to ride tonight   I'll be riding      When the morning comes and I wake up   To the sounds of the people below   There's a note on my bed that is easily read   Buenos dias and a kiss when you go   As I ride out of town with my face to the sun   And the dust is trailing behind   Soon I'll go back to this sleepy old town   Back where I know I can find      I don't have to think about it   I don't have to wonder   Where I'm going to ride tonight   I'll be riding down the highway south of the border