Rambling, Gambling Willie - Witmark Demo - 1962

Come around you rovin' gamblers and a story I will tell
 About the greatest gambler, you all should know him well
 His name was Will O'Conley and he gambled all his life
 He had 27 children, yet he's never had a wife
 And it's ride, Willie, ride
 Roll, Willie, roll
 Wherever you're gamblin' now
 Nobody really knows
 He gambled in the White House and in the railroad yards
 Wherever there was people, there was Willie and his cards
 He had the reputation as the gambliest man around
 Wives would keep their husbands home when Willie came to town
 And it's ride, Willie, ride
 Roll, Willie, roll
 Wherever you are gamblin' now
 Nobody really knows
 Sailin' down the Mississippi to a town called New Orleans
 They're still talkin' about their card game on that Jackson River Queen
 "I've come to win some money", gambling Willie says
 When the game finally ended up the whole damn boat was his
 And it's ride, Willie, ride
 Roll, Willie, roll
 Wherever you are gamblin' now
 Nobody really knows
 Up in the Rocky Mountains in a town called Cripple Creek
 There was an all-night poker game, lasted about a week
 900 miners had laid their money down
 When Willie finally left the room, he owned the whole damn town
 And it's ride, Willie, ride
 Roll, Willie, roll
 Wherever you are gamblin' now
 Nobody really knows
 But 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 rings or fancy things like other gamblers wore
 He spread his money far and wide to help the sick and the poor
 And it's ride, Willie, ride
 Roll, Willie, roll
 Wherever you are gamblin' now
 Nobody really knows
 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 didn't even have a pair
 And it's ride, Willie, ride
 Roll, Willie, roll
 Wherever you are gamblin' now
 Nobody really knows
 It was late one evenin' during a poker game
 A man lost all his money, he said, "Willie was to blame"
 He shot poor Willie through the head, which was a tragic fate
 When Willie's cards fell on the floor, they were aces backed with eights
 And it's ride, Willie, ride
 Roll, Willie, roll
 Wherever you are gamblin' now
 Nobody really knows
 So all you rovin' gamblers, wherever you might be
 The moral of this story is very plain to see
 Make your money while you can, before you have to stop
 For when you pull that dead man's hand, your gamblin' days are up
 And it's ride, Willie, ride
 Roll, Willie, roll
 Wherever you are gamblin' now
 Nobody really knows