I’m a gambler but I never hurt anyone
When the cards gave me favor I had me my fun
With the pretty young women
In an old town saloon
We drank bourbon whiskey
And danced ‘round the room
And on the dark side I’ve got time on my hands
I remember the river and the smell of the land
But there’s no going back
To the past there’s no road
The steamboats are gone now
And so is the gold
There was a young boy with an old mandolin
Playing down by the river as they pushed me back in
Will the circle be unbroken?
By and by, Lord, by and by
My eyes were wide open
As I looked at the sky
And on the dark side there’s no time to be sad
There’s an old rusty shovel in the suitcase I had
Hallelujah, for the ones that were wrong
‘cause when the train left the station
only sinners were on
Now, the young boy has grown wrinkled and old
But he sits by the river playing, Billy Come Home
Mama’s waiting in the yard by the door
Sister saying, what’d you wait so long for?