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Come round you rovin gamblers theres a story I will tell
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About the greatest gambler you all should know him well
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His name was Willie OʼConnelly and he gambled all his life
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Heʼs had 27 children yet heʼs never had a wife
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And itʼs ride Willie ride, roll Willie roll,
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Where ever youʼre a gamblin now nobody knows
Well he gambled in the white house and in the railroad yards
Where ever there was people there was Willie and his cards
He had the reputation as the gamblinest man around
Wives would keep their husbands home when Willie came town
Sailin down the Mississippi to a town called New Orleans
Theyʼre still talkin about that card game on that Jackson Queen
Iʼve come to win some money, gamblin Willie says
When the game finally ended up, the whole darn boat was his
Up in the Rocky Mountains in a town called Cripple Creek
There was an old poker game lasted about a week
900 miners had laid their money down
When Willie finally left the room he owned the whole darn town.
Well Willie had a heart of gold and this I know is true
He supported all his children and all their mothers too
He wore no wings and fancy things that other gamblers wore
He spread his money far and wide to help the sick and poor
When you played your cards with Willie you never really knew
Whether he was bluffin or whether he was true
He won a fortune from a man who folded in his chair
The man he left a diamond flush Willie didnʼt even have a pair
It was late one evening during a poker game
A man lost all his money said Willie was to blame
He shot poor Willie through the head which was a tragic fate
Willieʼs cards fell on the floor they were aces backed with eights
So all you ramblin gamblers where ever you might be
The moral of the story is very plain to see
Make your money while you can before you have to stop
Cause when you pull that dead manʼs hand your gamblin days are up.
