Dying Crapshooter's Blues

Little Jesse was a gambler, night and day He used crooked cards and dice. Sinful guy, good hearted but had no soul Heart was hard and cold like ice Jesse was a wild reckless gambler Won a gang of change Altho' a many gambler's heart he led in pain Began to spend a-loose his money Began to be blue, sad and all alone His heart had even turned to stone. What broke Jesse's heart while he was blue and all alone Sweet Lorena packed up and gone Police walked up and shot my friend Jesse down Boys i got to die today He had a gang of crapshooters and gamblers at his bedside Here are the words he had to say: Guess I ought to know Exactly how I wants to go (How you wanna go, Jesse?) Eight crapshooters to be my pallbearers Let 'em be veiled down in black I want nine men going to the graveyard, bubba And eight men comin back I want a gang of gamblers gathered 'round my coffin-side Crooked card printed on my hearse Don't say the crapshooters'll never grieve over me My life been a doggone curse Send poker players to the graveyard Dig my grave with the ace of spades I want twelve polices in my funeral march High sheriff playin' blackjack, lead the parade I want the judge and solic'ter who jailed me 14 times Put a pair of dice in my shoes (then what?) Let a deck of cards be my tombstone I got the dyin' crapshooter's blues Sixteen real good crapshooters Sixteen bootleggers to sing a song Sixteen racket men gamblin' Couple tend bar while i'm rollin' along He wanted 22 womens outta the Hampton Hotel 26 off-a South Bell 29 women outta North Atlanta Known that Jessie didnt pass so swell And his head was aikin, heart was thumping Little jesse went down bouncin n jumping Folks don't be hangin round jesse while cryin He wants everyone to do the charleston while he's dying One foot up and a toe nail dragging, Throw my buddy jesse in that hoodoo wagon Come here mama with that can of booze The dying crapshooter's loosing me He's got the dying crapshooters blues Well gamblin jesse is going to see The dying crapshooter is leaving me and the world Dying crapshooters blues