Come around you roving gamblers, a story we will tell About the greatest gambler, you all should know him wellHis name was Willie Connolly, and he gambled all his life He had twenty-seven children, yet he never had a wifeAnd this ride, Willie, ride, roll, Willie, roll Wherever you're a-gambling now, nobody really knowsSailing down the Missis Hippie to the town of New Orleans There was a famous car game on the Jackson River QueenI've come to win some money, old gambler Willie said When the game was ended up, old Dan Pope was hisAnd this ride, Willie, ride, roll, Willie, roll Wherever you're a-gambling now, nobody really knowsUp in the Rocky Mountains in a town called Triple Creek They had an all-night poker game that lasted about a weekNine hundred miners had laid their money down When Willie finally left the room, he owned the whole damn townAnd this ride, Willie, ride, roll, Willie, roll Wherever you're a-gambling now, nobody really knowsNow Willie had a heart of gold, and this I know is true He supported all his children, and all their mothers tooHe wore no rings or fancy things like other gamblers wore He spread his money far and wide to help the sick and poorAnd this ride, Willie, ride, roll, Willie, roll Wherever you're a-gambling now, nobody really knowsIt was late one fateful evening as they played a poker game A man lost all his money, he said Willie was to blameHe shot poor Willie through the heart, it was a tragic fate When Willie's cards fell on the floor, there were aces backed with eightsAnd this ride, Willie, ride, roll, Willie, roll Wherever you're a-gambling now, nobody really knowsSo all you roving gamblers, wherever you might be The moral of this story is very plain to seeMake your money while you can before you have to stop For when you pull that dead man's handYour gambling days are up, and this ride, Willie, ride, roll, Willie, roll Wherever you're a-gambling now, nobody really knowsRide, Willie, ride, roll, Willie, roll Wherever you're a-gambling now, nobody really knows