By the Time I Get to Phoenix is a 1967 Pop-Country song written by Jimmy Webb and performed by Glen Campbell.
On Married... with Children, it is heard in the Season 1 episode, "Al Loses His Cherry".
Background[]
The lyrics depict a man who has left his girlfriend to go on a road trip and noting the the things she'll probably do before realizing that he has left her for good.
Written by Jimmy Webb, it was originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965, but became well known after it was covered by musician Glen Campbell in 1967. It has been covered by several other artists over the years, with one of them being Isaac Hayes, whose version clocks in at nearly 19 minutes in length, as it features an 8 minute rap by Hayes that depicts the events prior to the narrator leaving on a road trip.
The lyrics came about after Webb broke up with his girlfriend at the time, Susan Horton. Despite the break up, the two remained friends, following her marriage to Bobby Ronstadt, a cousin of singer Linda Ronstadt.
Usage on Married... with Children[]
In the Season 1 episode, "Al Loses His Cherry", Al choses to spend the night with his co-worker Luke Ventura at his apartment after getting into an argument with his wife, Peggy Bundy.
After Al makes himself at home and puts his hand down his pants, he sings the opening line of the song, then improvises by humming the melody and adds on the line, "...her hair".
Lyrics[]
By the time I get to Phoenix she'll be rising
She'll find the note I left hangin' on her door
She'll laugh when she reads the part that says I'm leavin'
'Cause I've left that girl so many times before.
By the time I make Albuquerque she'll be working
She'll probably stop at lunch and give me a call
But she'll just hear that phone keep on ringin'
Off the wall, that's all.
By the time I make Oklahoma she'll be sleepin'
She'll turn softly and call my name out low
And she'll cry just to think I'd really leave her
Tho' time and time I try to tell her so
She just didn't know I would really go.