Rico's Song

Words and music by Torey Adler © 2003

Rico he wore a lemon sweater,

Army and Navy shoes,

He had a girl named Betty,

Who was leaving him already

And there was nothing left for him to do

Thought he'd go back to where he started,

Back to his home up in the woods

In a '69 green Plymouth Fury

with bright yellow seats and an angel on the hood

Betty, she never understood him,

That's not to say she didn't try,

Rico used say things happen sometimes

And it's best that we don't ask why,

Betty, she went a little batty,

Became the talk of the neighborhood

She used to climb up on the river bridge,

Stood by the rail like she was waiting for a flood

On the day that Rico finally drove away,

Betty climbed up on the river bridge

She saw the green Plymouth Fury disappearing

Over Holiday Ridge.

Then everything just sort of happened at once,

She saw it all from where she stood,

The Earth started shaking like a rock and roll drummer

Playing a double speed Johnny B. Goode

That was the day of the big one,

Ventura County shook like a jelly mold

Rico used to say, things happen that way

When the weight gets to be more than it can hold

Rico he drove into a crevice,

Opened up in the middle of highway three

Rico went down and the angel went down

In the blaze of a Plymouth Fury

He hit his head on the windshield

He felt faint and there was some blood

In a '69 green Plymouth Fury

with bright yellow seats and an angel on the hood

When Betty got home that evening,

She turned on the local news

It seems the flood had hit the bridge

Just as she'd been leaving,

It was a miracle that she'd got through,

She just kept flipping channels,

Until she finally understood,

There was an unidentified body

In a green Plymouth Fury

with an angel on the hood,

A '69 green Plymouth Fury

with bright yellow seats and an angel on the hood