Come round you rovin' gamblers there's a story I will tell
About the greatest gambler you all should know him well
His name was Willie O'Connelly and he gambled all his life
He's had 27 children yet he's never had a wife

And it's ride Willie ride, roll Willie roll
Where ever you're a gamblin' now nobody knows

Well he gambled in the white house and in the railroad yards
Where ever there was money there was Willie and his cards
He had the reputation as the gamblinest man around
Wives would keep their husbands home when Willie come to town

And it's ride Willie ride, roll Willie roll
Where ever you're a gamblin' now nobody knows

Well, he gambled up in the Rocky Mountains in a town called Cripple Creek
They had'em an all night card game, it lasted about two weeks
900 miners, they laid their money down
When Willie finally left the room, he owned the whole darn town

And it's ride Willie ride, roll Willie roll
Where ever you're a gamblin' now nobody knows

Sailin' down the Mississippi to a town called New Orleans
They had'em an all night card game aboard that Jackson Queen
"I've come to win some money," Gamblin' Willie says
When the game finally ended up, the whole darn boat was his
And it's ride Willie ride, roll Willie roll
Where ever you're a gamblin' now nobody knows

Well, you played your cards with Willie you never really knew
Whether he was bluffin' or whether he was true
He won a fortune from a man that folded in his chair
The man he left a diamond straight and Willie didn't have a pair

And it's ride Willie ride, roll Willie roll
Where ever you're a gamblin' now nobody knows

Well Willie had a heart of gold and this I know is true
He supported all his children and all their mothers too
He wore no wings and fancy things that other gamblers wore
He spread his money far and wide to help the sick and poor

And it's ride Willie ride, roll Willie roll
Where ever you're a gamblin' now nobody knows

It was late one evening during a poker game
A man lost all his money he says Willie was to blame
He shot poor Willie through the head which was a tragic fate
And when his cards fell to the ground they was aces backed with eights

And it's ride Willie ride, roll Willie roll
Where ever you're a gamblin' now nobody knows
The moral of the story is very plain to see
Make your money while you can that's how it's supposed to be
Make your money while you can before you have to stop
Man, when you get your dead man's had your gamblin' days are up

And it's ride Willie ride, roll Willie roll
Where ever you're a gamblin' now nobody knows