Kentucky Gambler

Merle Haggard

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 shackey 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 casinos, in Nevada's town of Reno
This Kentucky Gambler planned to get rich quick

(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?)
And who's going to keep them fed and keep them shoes on their feet?

There at the gambler's paradise, Lady luck was on my side
And this Kentucky gambler played just right
Yeah, 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 green-backed 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 a while, and then she's gone
You better go on home, Kentucky gambler

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

(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
Much more than he wins