Ramblin' Jack Elliott - The Essential Ramblin Jack Elliott [compilation] (2001) by Ramblin' Jack Elliott (보컬) on maniadb.com

I'm a roving gambler,
And I gamble down in town.
Whenever I meet with a deck of cards,
I lay my money down,
Boys,I lay my money down

I've gambled up in Washington,
Gambled down in Maine,
I'm on my way to Georgia
To knock down my last game,
Boys, knock down my last game.

Well, I had not been in Washington,
Many more weeks than three,
When I fell in love with a pretty
Little girl,
And she fell in love with me.
And she fell in love with me.

She took me in her parlor,
She cooled me with her fan,
She whispered low in her mama's ear,
"I love this gamblin' man,
Ma, I love this gamblin' man."

"Well, daughter, my dear daughter,
How can you treat me so,
To leave your poor old mama,
And with this gambler go,
And with this gambler go?"

"Well, mama, my dear mama,
You know I love you well,
But the love I hold for a gamblin'
Man
No human tongue can tell,
Ma, no human tongue can tell.

"I'd never marry a farmer,
He's always in the rain.
I'd rather marry a gamblin' man
With a big gold watch and chain,
Ma, big gold watch and chain.

"And I'd never marry a railroad man,
The reason I'll tell you why,
Never did see a railroad man
Who wouldn't tell his wife a lie,
Ma, wouldn't tell his wife a lie.

"I hear the train a-comin',
Comin' around the curve,
Whistling and a-blowin'
And a-strainin' every nerve,
Ma, strainin' every nerve.

"It's good-bye, good-bye, mama,
Tell you if I can,
If you ever see me comin' home again,
It will be with a gamblin' man,
Ma, be with a gamblin' man."

There is a man you'll hear about
Most every place you go.
His holdings are in Texas,
And his name is Diamond Joe.
And he carries all his money
In a diamond-studded jaw.
And he never was much bothered
By the process of the law.

I hired out to Diamond Joe, boys,
I did offer him my hand.
And he give me a string of horses
So old they could not stand.
I like to starve to death, boys,
He did mistreat me so.
Never saved a dollar
In the pay of Diamond Joe.

Well, his bread it was corn dodger,
His meat I couldn't chaw.
And he drove me near distracted
With the waggin' of his jaw.
Oh, the tellin' of his stories,
I aim to let you know,
There never was a rounder
That lied like Diamond Joe.

Well, I tried three times to quit him, boys,
But he did argue so,
That I'm still punchin' cattle
In the pay of Diamond Joe.
And when I'm called up yonder,
And it comes my time to go,
Give my blankets to my buddies,
And give the fleas to Diamond Joe.

Take a trip with me in nineteen thirteen
To Calumet, Michigan, in the copper country
I'll take you to place called Italian Hall
And the miners are having their big Christmas ball

I'll take you in a door and up a high stairs
Singing and dancing is heard everywhere
I will let you shake hands with the people you see
And watch the kids dance 'round the big Christmas tree

There's talkin' and laughin' and songs in the air
And the spirit of Christmas is there everywhere
Before you know it, you're friends with us all
And you're dancing around and around in the hall

You ask about work and you ask about pay
They'll tell you, they make less than a dollar a day
Working the copper claims, risking their lives
So it's fun to spend Christmas with children and wives

Hey, a little girl sits down by the Christmas tree lights
To play the piano, so you gotta keep quiet
To hear all this fun you had not realize
That the copper-boss thug-men they are milling outside

The copper-boss thugs stuck their heads in the door
One of them yelled and he screamed, "There's a fire"
A lady, she hollered, "There's no such a thing
Keep on with your party, there's no such a thing"

A few people rushed and it's only a few
It's just the thugs and the scabs fooling you
A man grabbed his daughter and carried her down
But the thugs held the door and he could not get out

And then others followed a hundred or more
Most everybody remained on the floor
The gun-thugs they laughed at their murderous joke
And the children were smothered on the stair by the door

Such a terrible sight I never did see
We carried our children back up to their tree
The scabs outside still laughed at their spree
And the children that died there were seventy-three

Piano played a slow funeral tune
And the town was lit up by a cold Christmas moon
The parents they cried and the miners they moaned
See what your greed for money has done