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The Gambler

from You're Home Now by Richard Berman

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about

"The Gambler" is the second part of a three-song story featuring "The Devil and Miss Hattie (James' Song)" and "Miss Hattie's Story"

lyrics

1. In my life the first person to desert me
Was my father I’ve never seen
Momma once told me he wore a vest
No tin star pinned to his chest
Momma took up with a gambling man
Left me and Luke on Grandma’s hands
I held out hope for about a year
She didn’t come back, I shed no tears

2. I was swimming in the quarry, Luke jumped from the top
It’d been done many times, but he hit a rock
I couldn’t keep from crying when they filled his grave
Spent the night in the barn, then slipped away
I’d heard ‘bout a river with towns along side
I walked to that river, it took three days’ time
Got a job running errands for child’s pay
Empty shed by the river, that’s where I stayed

3. I fell in with a man on a fine river boat
Wore a black vest, a well-cut waistcoat
He taught me cards and so much else
I learned that luck could be given some help
Then came the morning I woke up to find
He’d left the boat and me far behind
The coins and bills that I’d amassed
Where they had gone no need to ask

Bridge:
The river is safer than here on dry land
I wear my hat low but it’s hard to blend in
My dog by my side, I study the street
There’s folks with long memories it’s best not to meet

4. I don’t think I’ve had a child I’ve never had a wife
My dog is named Jack, all I need in life
Befriend a dog he won’t bite your hand
That’s the difference, they say, ‘tween a dog and a man
I move through this life with my cards and my dog
Sometimes I wonder what I’m living for
But then there’s a question I come round to ask
If I was gone who’d be here for Jack?

credits

from You're Home Now, released November 7, 2014
Vocals - Richard
Guitar - Richard
Dobro - Jim Henry
Upright bass - Stuart Kenny

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Richard Berman Amherst, Massachusetts

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