Last night I met a girl on the streets of Santa Fe She was selling turquoise jewelry to any tourist that would pay She said, "My name's Carmelita, it was 110 today I'm in dire need of a young gringo to steal my heart away"
I said, "What do you know, let's go There's a cantina down the street We can have a laugh, knock a few back And maybe grab something to eat" She started swaying back and forth To the sound of a salsa beat I said, "I'm a green horn from Texas, And I'm sporting two left feet"
Carmelita show me how to dance cause I'm willing to take chance To be the only white boy on the floor While they're laughing from the bar to the door She said, "Put your hands on my hips and I'll take you on a trip" In the name of romance Carmelita show me how to dance
By the third song we was getting it wrong Man I was scared to death She was counting steps off in my ear With tequila on her breath Then some tall, dark and handsome cut in and put me to bed While the sweat was flyin' inside I was dying So this is what I said