Want to visit a place from classic country music lore? Chances are you’ve heard Marty Robbins’ 1959 hit song “El Paso.” Even if you think you haven’t, I’d be willing to bet that you have. It’s from Robbins’ Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs album, and for my money, it’s one of the best storytelling songs in all of country music. And the main setting of the song – Rosa’s Cantina – is a real place that you can actually visit. If you are in need of a refresher, the tune tells the story of a gunslinger who falls in love with a woman named Feleena while he’s in the town of El Paso, Texas. Specifically, the main character of the story wanders into a establishment called “Rosa’s Cantina,” which sounds like quite the vibe: “Out in the West Texas town of El PasoI fell in love with a Mexican girlNighttime would find me in Rosa’s CantinaMusic would play and Feleena would whirl.” Fans of the song know that the narrator becomes so enamored with Feleena that he shoots another man who wished to be with her dead. The aftermath of that is explained later in the song, when the main character flees Rosa’s Cantina: “Out through the back door of Rosa’s I ranOut where the horses were tiedI caught a good one, it looked like it could runUp on its back, and away I did rideJust as fast as I could from the West Texas town of El PasoOut to the badlands of New Mexico.” That’s when the story really gets good. Because his love for Feleena is so strong, he returns to Rosa’s Cantina, knowing that he’ll lose his life if he steps back inside the establishment. But as he says, his love has grown stronger than his “fear of death,” and he rides back down into El Paso to see her: “And at last here I am on the hill overlooking El PasoI can see Rosa’s Cantina belowMy love is strong and it pushes me onwardDown off the hill to Feleena I go Off to my right, I see five mounted cowboysOff to my left ride a dozen or moreShouting and shooting, I can’t let them catch meI have to make it to Rosa’s back door.” I won’t spoil the ending for you in case you haven’t heard it, but I will say that if you’ve always loved the song – or just became a big fan of it – you can visit the very place where Feleena may or may not have actually stole the heart of a gunslinger. There’s actually a lot of debate about which Rosa’s Cantina is the real, original one. Considering Robbins often played in Nashville (he was from Phoenix, Arizona), he was probably passing through El Paso when he came up with the idea of the song in the late ’50s. And that would make sense, considering Rosa’s Cantina’s has been established since 1957. And there’s also debate about whether or not the song was named after the place, or the place was named after the song. Their website explains it like this: “A bar was opened post-prohibition in the early 1940’s under a different name. In 1957, ownership changed as well as the name, to “Rosa’s Cantina.” Some people would argue that city directories show another business located at 3454 Doniphan Drive until 1961. According to the owner at the time, business was done on a handshake and city documents were not legally changed to “Rosa’s Cantina” until 1961. It has been called Rosa’s Cantina since 1957. Some believe that Marty Robbins named the song after the Rosa’s Cantina here in El Paso, and others believe that this Rosa’s Cantina was named after the song.” But regardless, a Rosa’s Cantina stands in El Paso, Texas, and has for nearly 70 years. It’s located at 3454 Doniphan Drive on El Paso’s outskirts, and describes itself as a “rustic, compact Mexican joint serving tacos, burritos and other typical eats, plus margaritas and beer.” Sounds to me like a place where you could certainly meet the love of your life: View this post on Instagram Many who have heard the song again and again over the years may have just assumed that the cantina included in the song was made up by the mind of Marty Robbins. At the very least, it was likely exaggerated, but it’s pretty cool to think that a song that will go down as one of the best in country music history has a physical, real-life location attached to it. While I plan a road trip to El Paso to visit Rosa’s Cantina, you can press play on the Grammy-award-winning song below: “El Paso” by Marty Robbins The post Did You Know You Can Actually Visit Rosa’s Cantina, Which Is Featured In Marty Robbins’ 1959 Hit, “El Paso”? first appeared on Whiskey Riff.