[Verse 1]
Come around you rovin' gamblers, a story we will tell
About the greatest gambler, who you all should know him well
His name was Willie Conley and he gambled all his life
He had twenty-seven children, yet he never had a wife
[Chorus]
And it's ride, Willie, ride
Roll, Willie, roll
Wherever you're a-gamblin' now
Nobody really knows
[Verse 2]
Sailin' down the Mississippi to a town of New Orleans
There was a famous card game on the Jackson River Queen
"I've come to win some money," oh Gamblin' Willie says
When the game was ended up, the whole damn boat was his
[Chorus]
And it's ride, Willie, ride
Roll, Willie, roll
Wherever you're a-gamblin' now
Nobody really knows
[Verse 3]
Up in the Rocky Mountains in a town called Cripple Creek
They had an all-night poker game, it lasted about a week
Nine hundred miners had laid their money down
When Willie finally left the room, he owned the whole damn town
[Chorus]
And it's ride, Willie, ride
Roll, Willie, roll
Wherever you're a-gamblin' now
Nobody really knows
[Verse 4]
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
[Chorus]
And it's ride, Willie, ride
Roll, Willie, roll
Wherever you're a-gamblin' now
Nobody really knows
[Verse 5]
It was late one evenin' that they played a poker game
A man lost all his money, he said Willie was to blame
He shot poor Willie through the heart, it was a tragic fate
When Willie's cards fell on the floor, they were aces backed with eights
[Chorus]
And it's ride, Willie, ride
Roll, Willie, roll
Wherever you're a-gamblin' now
Nobody really knows
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 6]
So all you rovin' gamblers, wherever you might be
The moral of the 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
[Chorus]
And it's ride, Willie, ride
Roll, Willie, roll
Wherever you're a-gamblin' now
Nobody really knows
Ride, Willie, ride
Roll, Willie, roll
Wherever you're a-gamblin' now
Nobody really knows
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