He said, pardon me for being so bold
You got a cigarette that's already rolled
I gave him one and he lit it in his own good time
The smoke in that pool room hung like fog
When he talked he sounded like a growling dog
He said, do you care for a dollar on the five or nine?
Now the man was ugly and his eyes were mean
His clothes were dirty but his hands were clean
He held that stick like the mother holds the hand of a child
Well, I've been on a hustle a few
When the waitress said, is he playing you?
And I said, yeah, bring me brandy, water by
Little Red Parker, he was way in the back
Taking quarters and handling racks
I told him, Red, come up here, glue him up tight
That brandy had me
Feeling warm
So I tipped that waitress and checked her form
And I said, honey, do you like a winner?
And she just smiled
I played like a man with a broken wrist
I won two and he won six
And I had him set up
So I said, let's play for five
By this time a crowd had gathered round
Just to see this fish and watch him drown
I told that waitress, more brandy, water by
Well, he went out and got a custom cue
And he said, no offense to you
But I don't play off the wall with nobody but friends
It had gold initials and a leather grip
Pearl and silver in late tip
He smiled at me and said, why don't we play for ten?
Well, I've never seen a man that walked
Who made those balls and table talk
They're speaking English
He sure didn't need my help
He broke the balls and kept that string
For a hundred eighty-seven bucks in the ring
Till I gave up and said, friend
You're gonna have to play by yourself
Well, he sacked it up and he walked outside
I strolled out just to watch him ride
There's a blind that caddy
Built like the rest of that car
The boys in the pool room, they had him a laugh
And I hung it up, let it pass
Did the same thing again
Didn't have a thing but my elbows to put on that bar
The waitress smiled and said, watered by
I took the charity and I thanked her class
And sipping her sipping
And I suddenly had me a thought
Unlucky gambler and lucky in love
I guess you know what I was thinking of
I said, waitress, honey
What time do you get off?