| I had a home out in Texas
|
| Down where the bluebonnets grew
|
| I had the kindest old mother
|
| How happy we were just we two
|
| 'Til one day the angels called her
|
| That debt we all have to pay
|
| She called me close to her bedside
|
| These last few words to say
|
| Son don’t start drinking and gambling
|
| Promise you’ll always go straight
|
| Ten years have passed since that parting
|
| That promise I’ve broke I must say
|
| I started gambling for pastime
|
| At last I was just like them all
|
| I bet my clothes and my money
|
| Not dreaming that I’d ever fall
|
| One night I bet all my money
|
| Nothing was left to be seen
|
| And all that I needed to break them
|
| Was one card and that was a queen
|
| The cards were dealt all round the table
|
| Each man took a card on the draw
|
| I drew the one that would beat them
|
| I turned it and here’s what I saw
|
| I saw my mother’s picture
|
| And somehow she seemed to say
|
| Son you have broken your promise
|
| So I tossed the cards away
|
| My winnings I gave to a newsboy
|
| I knew I was wrong from the start
|
| And I’ll never forget that promise
|
| To my Mother the queen of my heart
|
| Ah-dee-dee-yo-del-lay-ee
|
| Dee-oh-dee-oh-del-lay-ee-dee-oh-del-lay-ee |