Father's not a gambling man
He never picked a fight
Never raised his hand
Unless he knew that it was right
Spoke just like a pioneer
I've never seen him cry
Laughs just like its killing him
He says he'll never die
And he wore an old revolver
That he carried in the war
He pulled me to the side one day
He told me what it's for
He said well son I'm not a fighting man
That's not how I was raised
But if you push then I'll push back
That's how you play the game
And he'll sing this song to please you
And he'll plead with saint maria
He'll say won't you come and talk to me
And put me in my bed
And my mind is full of old lines
And my voice is cracked from all the times
I smoked too many cigarettes
Told you that you'd never guess my name
Said son this ain't a perfect world
It's the only one I know
And I won't tell you where to live
Won't tell you where to go
And I won't keep you safe at night
But I'll help you when I can
And I won't tell you what to think
No you don't give a damn
And he killed a man in Idaho
But never saw him die
He put the fear of god in me
I never asked him why
Because he carried round a bible
It was worn and leather bound
Says if the life goes out of me
Don't put me in the ground
Oh just throw me in the river
And in time I will forget
I'll just sink down to the bottom
And I'll never make a sound
He said son I'm just an old man
But tonight I'll do the best I can
So hand me one more cigarette
Tell you how the deal is going down
He says my hand to god
I'm gonna put you in the fire
He's calling all the saints by name
He's calling me a liar
He says well son this ain't a perfect world
It's the only one I know
And he pulls out his revolver
And he says before I go
Lyrics Submitted by Niyazi Aydın Pekin