Merle Haggard — Kentucky Gambler

[Verse 1] I wanted more from life than four kids and a wife And a job in a dark Kentucky mine A twenty-acre farm with a shacky house and barn That’s all I had and all I left behind But at gambling, I was lucky, and so I left Kentucky And left behind my woman and my kids Into the gay casino in Nevada's town of Reno This Kentucky gambler planned to get rich quick [Chorus] Kentucky gambler, who's going to love your woman in Kentucky? Yeah and who's going to be the one to give her everything she needs? Kentucky gambler, who's going to raise your children in Kentucky? Who's going to keep them fed and keep them shoes on their feet? [Verse 2] There at the gambler's paradise, Lady Luck was on my side And this Kentucky gambler played just right Hey, I won at everything I played, I really thought I had it made But I should have quit and gone on home that night But when you love the greenback dollar, sorrow's always bound to follow And Reno's dreams fade into neon amber And Lady Luck, she'll lead you on, she'll stay awhile, and then she's gone You better go on home, Kentucky gambler [Bridge] But a gambler never seems to stop till he loses all he's got And with a money-hungry fever, I played on I played till I'd lost all I'd won I was right back where I'd started from Then I started wanting to go home [Chorus] Kentucky gambler, there ain't nobody waiting in Kentucky When I ran out, somebody else walked in Kentucky gambler, looks like you ain't really very lucky And it seems to me a gambler loses much more than he wins [Outro] Much more than he wins