My mother called me to her bedside
These words she said to me
If you don't quit your rambling ways
They're gonna get you in the penitentiaryGonna get you in the penitentiary poor boy
Gonna get you in the penitentiary
If you don't quit your reckless ways
They're gonna get you in the penitentiarySo I sat myself down in a gambling game
But I could not play my hand
Just thinking about that woman I love
Run away with another manRun away with another man, poor boy
Run away with another man
Just thinking about that woman I love
Run away with another manThe cards came around the table, Lord
And I had such a worried mind
My stack of gold dollars I wasted away
And I lost about ninety nineI lost about ninety nine poor boy
I lost about ninety nine
My stack of gold dollars I wasted away
And I lost about ninety nineIt wasn't very long till I seen him again
He ran away left her behind
And I laid him down with my old forty four
And the judge gave me ninety nineThe judge gave me ninety nine, poor boy
The judge gave me ninety nine
I laid a man down with my big forty four
And the judge gave me ninety nineWell, the jury said I had to pay
And the clerk he wrote it down
And the judge called out my numberTwo sixes upside down
Two sixes upside down, poor boy
Two sixes upside down
The judge called out my number