I first posted this in February 2010. I revised it a little. Converted a B section to a chorus, and changed some lyrics in the 2nd half of verse 2. I’ve been wanting to write a song that had a sense of place.
Goodbye Gabriela
by Rob Roper 4th Draft March 29, 2011
Gabriela was pretty
though she always looked down
She was like Tucson
a grown-up little town
I should have left them
ten years ago
But the saguaros and the Catalinas
just won’t let me go.
On 4th Avenue
College girls drink
Spending daddy’s money
with fake I.D.’s
But Gabriela won’t be there
Her dad works in the mines
And she lives on the southside
where they drink beer, not wine
Chorus:
I should rent a truck
and pack up my stuff
Goodbye Gabriela
Goodbye Catalinas
But the sun is too hot
in Tucson today
so I’m just looking for some shade.
Out in the desert
Snowbirds play golf
The winter’s too nice here
It’s making me soft
Oh give me four seasons
Winter snow and all
Where the trees
are pretty in the fall
(Chorus)
Gabriela, my dear
Summer’s almost here
The Palo Verdes
have lost their yellow leaves
Oh you’ll probably call me
sometime in June
Then you’ll disappear
like a summer monsoon.
(Chorus)
Oh, the sun is too hot
in Tucson today
and I’m just looking for some shade.