"Albuquerque" is the last song of "Weird Al" Yankovic's Running With Scissors album. At 11 minutes and 25 seconds, it is the longest song Yankovic has ever released on any of his official studio albums.
With the exception of the choruses and occasional bridges, the track is mostly a spoken word narration about Yankovic's made-up life in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after winning a first-class one-way airplane ticket to the city. Though not a direct parody, the entire song mimics "Dick's Automotive" by The Rugburns so closely, it almost can be considered a direct parody.
Throughout the lyrics, there are many clichés and strange happenings that mislead the listener, only for them to find that the path of the story has changed completely within seconds. The instruments are also used in a layered format, playing a repetitive rhythm while the subject is calm, and then dramatically increasing in volume when something serious is said or occurs. One may also note that the bridges often include rather strange guitar and drum playing which is often sporadic and/or off-beat.
There is also an obvious joke involving the song in the album jacket to Running With Scissors. In the beginning, it looks like a standard title header for any of the other songs on the album and the beginning of the song's lyrics are shown. However, the lyrics are cut off early, followed by this seemingly sarcastic message:
"You know what? The rest of these lyrics aren't gonna fit here. There's just no room left. What a drag, huh? I guess we didn't plan this out very well...probably should have used a smaller font or a bigger piece of paper or something. Sorry. We all just feel horrible about this. Well, I guess you'll just have to listen really carefully and try to figure out the words for yourself. Good luck."
