By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Isaac Hayes Lyrics

I'm talking about the power of love now
The singer wants to discuss the strength of love

I'm gonna tell you what love can do
The singer will reveal the things love is capable of

You know when they say love makes the world go 'round, that's the truth
The common phrase that love moves the world is accurate

Now I want your imagination, I want you to travel with me
The singer desires the listener to accompany him in his story

Oh come on, come on, come on
The singer implores the listener to engage with him further

This young man was raised in the hills of Tennessee
A man was brought up in Tennessee's mountains

When he reached the age of maturity, he moved to the West Coast
As an adult, he migrated to the western United States

And he fell in love when he got out there to this young girl
He met a young lady and became smitten upon arriving

And then the inevitable
What followed was unavoidable

Became engaged and they were married
The couple became betrothed and wed

Oh, oh, the power of love was upon them
Love had a significant presence in their relationship

But you see, girls, I don't mean to come down on you
The singer addresses women but hopes to avoid criticizing them

But this man loved this woman so
The man was quite fond of his partner

He could see no wrong, no, no, no
He believed his love interest was faultless

He spent his last dime on the woman because he loved her
The man spent all his money to show his love

And you know, girls
The singer turns to address women again

You can take love and kindness sometime for weakness and she took it for granted
Women may exploit love and kindness, as the man's partner did

Yeah, and she tipped out on it
She left the man

See, ain't nobody gonna believe what to tell him no way, fool
The man cannot be convinced that his partner would deceive him

Oh, yeah, girls, you do like that sometimes
The singer suggests that women are occasionally unfaithful

But one day, one day, the old boy got sick and he had to come home
The man became ill and had to return home

I don't have to tell you what he found
The man discovered something very unpleasant

Oh, yeah, it hurt him so bad
The situation was incredibly painful for him

He said, "Baby, Mama, why?" That's all he could say
All he could do was ask why

But she said, "Oh, go on fool, you're doing it," but the man wasn't doing it
She insisted he was being paranoid, but he wasn't

But that's the only excuse she could give him
The lady couldn't provide any explanation beyond that

He said, "Mama, I can't take it. I've got to leave you. I'm gonna leave you."
The man decided he could no longer tolerate being together

When she tried to straighten up, she said she was gonna straighten up
The woman claimed to reform her ways when he decided to depart

She got a little job to help him out with the bills too,
The lady found work to assist with their expenses

But that was just a sham because he found it again and again
Her supposed improvements were lies as he discovered repeatedly

And seven times he left this woman and seven times he came back
Seven times the couple separated, yet seven times they rekindled their relationship

And he taken all that he could stand
He endured what he had about all he could

And the eighth time that this went down, he said, "Mama, I've got to go."
When they parted for the eighth time, he knew it was time to leave for good

He said, "I'm leaving my heart right here,"
Although he was going, he would always have strong feelings for her

Oh, I don't wanna go, but I've got to leave you, mama
Leaving was difficult for him but necessary

And he's been going down the highway
He hit the road

I guess it was around 3:30 in the morning
It was probably 3:30 a.m.

He could hardly see the road with tears in his eyes
He cried so much that it impeded his ability to see the street

He could barely see the sign that read on the side of the road
He had difficulty even seeing a roadside sign

The next town is 125 miles away
The following city was around 125 miles away

And these very words came into his mind. He said
He thought of the following lines

By the time I get to Phoenix, she'll be rising
Once he reaches Phoenix, the sun will be coming up

Oh, and she'll find a note I left hanging on her door
His former partner will discover a message he left on her door

She'll laugh when she reads the part that says I'm leaving
When she reads he is departing, she will laugh

Yes she will. Why?
This will occur, but why?

'Cause I've left that girl so many times before, oh
Because he has left her many occasions beforehand

By the time I make Albuquerque, she'll be working
When he reaches Albuquerque, she will be at her job

And she'll probably stop at lunch
She'll likely take a break for lunch

Just to give her, her sweet good thing a call
She'll call her lover

Oh, she'll hear, oh, oh
She'll answer and hear

The phone keeps right on ringing and ringing and ringing and ringing and ringing and ringing
The phone will continue ringing without answer

Oh, and ringing off the wall
The phone will incessantly ring

Mama, mama, mama, that's all
All she will hear is the ringing phone

And by the time I get to Oklahoma, she'll be sleeping
When he arrives in Oklahoma, she will be in bed

She'll turn softly in her restless sleep, call my name out low
While she sleeps fitfully, she will softly say his name

And oh, then she'll cry just to think I-I-I-I-I
She will weep at the thought of him leaving

I would really leave her
He has left her again

For time after time after time after time and time again, I've tried to tell her so
He has attempted to explain this sequence of events to her numerous times

But she was a non-believer, oh, and she did know
Due to her lack of faith, she refused to believe

Oh, that I-I-I-I-I-I would really go
She did not anticipate he would genuinely leave

She didn't believe I would really go
She didn't think he would leave for real

Oh no
This was not the case

I hate to leave you, baby, yes I do
The man confesses he does not wish to depart

I really, really, really hate to go, oh yeah
He hates the idea of leaving her

But this heart of mine just can't take no more
Leaving is the easier option since he cannot bear to continue as is