where o' where is that troublesome girl
the sun is busted up wide
supposed to roll on at the breakin' of dawn
can't leave without her by my side

by the vending machine talking to a marine
someone saw her crawl into his van
how the same blood can run from so cold to so hot
swear to god i'll never understand

never would have supposed that your sweet yellow rose
could've up and wilted so soon
good-bye Abilene i leave my everything
to the care of the West Texas moon

where o' where is that troublesome girl
for the clouds come rolling up strong
and the last dying sigh of that muscadine sky
whispers just what i've known all along

who do i see off of East 93
with her thumb stuck out in my lane
but that girl of mine and the flicker and shine
of her lit cigarette in the rain

now i had a choice but there weren't really no choice
i could see she done spent her last dime
i pulled back on the highway she slid over my way
sayin' things would be different this time

on a much safer road when i lightened my load
she made the saddest face i'd ever seen
but i never felt bad 'cause i done give her all i had
plus some change for the vending machine

where o' where is that beautiful girl
that i once held in my dreams
brother i'm telling you if it seems too good to be true
it's probably just what it seems

but sometimes i still think of that troublesome girl
'cause her memory stuck like a chiv
as these days roll past with no final 'at last'
i find there's little that i can't forgive

so where o' where is that troublesome girl
for the sun is busted up wide
and i'm pressing on at the breaking of dawn
wishing she was still here by my side