About The Song
“El Paso” is a country-and-western epic written and originally performed by Marty Robbins. The song was recorded on April 7, 1959, at Bradley Film & Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, produced by Don Law for Columbia Records. It first appeared on the album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, released in September 1959. The single (Columbia 4-41511) was officially issued on October 26, 1959, with “Running Gun” as the B-side.
Due to the 4:38 length of the full mono recording, Columbia initially pressed a shortened 3-minute edit for radio promotion, omitting the verse of remorse after the shooting. Disc jockeys overwhelmingly preferred the complete version, forcing the label to promote the unedited take. The gamble paid off: “El Paso” became the first country song to top the Billboard Hot 100 in the all-genre era, spending two weeks at No. 1 in January 1960 and simultaneously holding No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart for seven weeks. It was the first song of the 1960s to reach the summit on both charts and finished 1960 ranked No. 15 on the Hot 100 year-end list. Internationally, it reached No. 19 in the UK, No. 1 in South Africa, No. 13 in Italy, and No. 38 in Germany.
The narrative, delivered in first person, tells the tragic story of a cowboy who falls for a dancer named Felina (sometimes spelled Feleena) at Rosa’s Cantina in El Paso, Texas. After killing a rival suitor in a gunfight, he flees to New Mexico but is drawn back by uncontrollable love, only to be shot down by a posse while reuniting with Felina. The song’s unusual structure—nine verses, three bridges, and a tense shift from past to present—gives it a cinematic quality rare for the era.
Robbins wrote the song in late 1958 or early 1959 while driving with his family from Arizona to Texas. He later claimed the entire melody and lyric came to him in under an hour after passing an “El Paso City Limits” sign. The name “Felina” was taken from a real fifth-grade classmate, Fidelina Martinez. The distinctive Spanish guitar flourishes were played by Grady Martin, while backing vocals came from Bobby Sykes and Jim Glaser (of the Glaser Brothers). Three distinct mixes exist: the full mono single (4:38), the edited promo single (around 3:00), and a slightly shorter stereo album version.
“El Paso” won the first Grammy Award ever given for Best Country & Western Recording in 1961 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. The Western Writers of America ranks it among the Top 100 Western songs of all time. Robbins recorded two official sequels: “Feleena (From El Paso)” in 1966 (an eight-minute third-person prequel/sequel) and “El Paso City” in 1976, which also hit No. 1 on the country chart. A planned final chapter, “The Mystery of Old El Paso,” remained unfinished at his death in 1982.
Notable covers and parodies include H.B. Barnum’s novelty “El Pizza” (1960), Homer & Jethro’s “El Paso – Numero Dos,” and an instrumental version by Grady Martin in 1965. The song has been performed live by artists ranging from the Grateful Dead to Keith Urban and remains a staple of classic-country playlists more than six decades later.
Video
Lyric
Out in the West Texas town of El Paso
I fell in love with a Mexican girl.
Night-time would find me in Rosa’s cantina;
Music would play and Felina would whirl.Blacker than night were the eyes of Felina,
Wicked and evil while casting a spell.
My love was deep for this Mexican maiden;
I was in love but in vain, I could tell.One night a wild young cowboy came in,
Wild as the West Texas wind.
Dashing and daring, a drink he was sharing
With wicked Felina, the girl that I loved.So in anger I
Challenged his right for the love of this maiden.
Down went his hand for the gun that he wore.
My challenge was answered in less than a heart-beat;
The handsome young stranger lay dead on the floor.Just for a moment I stood there in silence,
Shocked by the FOUL EVIL deed I had done.
Many thoughts raced through my mind as I stood there;
I had but one chance and that was to run!Out through the back door of Rosa’s I ran,
Out where the horses were tied.
I caught a good one, it looked like it could run,
Up on its back and away I did ride,Just as fast as I
Could from the West Texas town of El Paso
Out to the bad-lands of New Mexico.Back in El Paso my life would be worthless.
Everything’s gone in life; nothing is left.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen the young maiden
My love is stronger than my fear of death!I saddled up and away I did go,
Riding alone in the dark.
Maybe tomorrow a bullet may find me,
Tonight nothing’s worse than this pain in my heart.And at last here I
Am on the hill overlooking El Paso;
I can see Rosa’s cantina below.
My love is strong and it pushes me onward,
Down off the hill to Felina I go.Off to my right I see five mounted cowboys;
Off to my left ride a dozen or more.
Shouting and shooting I can’t let them catch me,
I have to make it to Rosa’s back door.Something is dreadfully wrong for I feel
A deep burning pain in my side.
Though I am trying to stay in the saddle,
I’m getting weary, unable to ride.But my love for
Felina is strong and I rise where I’ve fallen,
Though I am weary I can’t stop to rest.
I see the white puff of smoke from the rifle,
I feel the bullet go deep in my chest.From out of nowhere Felina has found me,
Kissing my cheek as she kneels by my side.
Cradled by two loving arms that I’ll die for,
One little kiss and Felina, good-bye.