Roving Gambler

Recordings

George Reneau, 1925
Welby Toomey, 192?
Sin Songs, Ed McCurdy, 1955
The New Lost City Ramblers, The New Lost City Ramblers, 1958
Songs Our Daddy Taught Us, Everly Brothers, 1958
Country Songs Old & New, The Country Gentlemen, 1960
EP, Rusty York and the Kentucky Mountain Boys, 1961
Brothers Four Greatest Hits, Brothers Four, 1962
Folk Songs of the Everly Brothers, Everly Brothers, 1962
Folk Music of Washington Square, Various Artists (Alice L. McKillen) , 1962
Jack Elliott, Jack Elliott, 1964
Old Times and Hard Times, Hedy West, 1967
Ballads and Songs of the Blue Ridge Mountains - Persistence and Change, Various Artists (Hobart Delp, Larry Delp, Joe Kyles), 1968
At the hungry I, Gateway Singers, 196?
Legendary Stanley Brothers Recorded Live, Stanley Brothers, 1970
Essential, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, 1970
Immortal Carson Robison, Carson Robison and his Pioneers, 1978
Mountain Fiddler, Robert Byrd, 1978
Old Time Music from Fancy Gap, Abe Horton, 1978
All I Want To Do In Life, Jack Clement, 1978
The Walls of Time, Peter Rowan, 1982
Grinning In Your Face, Martin Simpson, 1983
Marty Robbins Files, Vol. 5 - 1958, 1959, 1962, Marty Robbins, 1984
Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Been, Spider John Koerner, 1986
Been Riding with Old Mosby, Frank Bode, 1986
Stanley Series, Vol. 2 #3, Stanley Brothers, 1986
Bristol Sessions. Vol 1, Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers, 1987
Songs For Rounders, Hank Thompson, 1987
Country Best, Dave Dudley, 1988
Classic Bluegrass, Larry Sparks, 1989
Kenny Hall and the Long Haul String Band, Kenny Hall and the Long Haul String Band, 198?
Mountain Dulcimer - Galax Style, Phyllis Gaskin, 1991
Music from the Mountain, Iron Mountain String Band, 1992
On The Trail Again, Frankie Laine, 1992
Classic Everly Brothers, Everly Brothers, 1992
Hei-wa Hoedown, Wat Koken, 1995
Family Songs and Stories From The North Carolina Mountains, Doug and Jack Wallin, 1995
Appalachian Stomp: Bluegrass Classics, Various Artists (Country Gentlemen), 1995
Race You to the Sun, Zelig, 1998
Classic Bluegrass, Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers, 199?
The Complete Kelly Harrell, Vol. 1, Kelly Harrell, 19??
The First Singing Cowboy On Records, Vernon Dalhart, 19??
Single, Benny & Vallie Cain and the Country Clan, 19??
Doc Watson at Gerdes Folk City, Doc Watson, 2001
The Complete Cadence Recordings: 1957-1960, The Everly Brothers, 2001
Lonesome Valley, Various Artists (Country Gentlemen), 2002
Buffalo Skinners, Rob McNurlin, 2004
Classic Bluegrass From Smithsonian Folkways, Vol. 2, Various Artists (Country Gentlemen), 2005
The Best of Mac Wiseman: Essential Original Masters, Mac Wiseman, 2006
Classic Bluegrass Collection, Vols. 1-4, Various Artists (Peter Rowan), 2007
Is It True?, The Dwyers, 2008

Notes

Played by the Hart Valley Drifters at the College of San Mateo in San Mateo on November 10th 1962.

The lyrics of the version played by the Hart Valley Drifters are as follows;

I am a roving gambler,
I've gambled all around,
Wherever I meet with a deck of cards,
I lay my money down.

Lay my money down, lay my money down.

Had not been in (?),
Many more weeks but three,
When I fell in love with a pretty girl,
And she fell in love with me.

Fell in love with me, fell in love with me.

She took me to her parlor,
Cooled me with a fan,
Whispered low in her mother's ear,
I love that gambling man.

Love that gambling man, love that gambling man.

Oh, daughter, oh, dear daughter,
How can you treat me so,
To leave your dear old mother,
And with a gambling man go.

With a gambling man go, with a gambling man go.

Oh, mother, oh, mother,
I'll tell you if I can,
If you ever see me coming back,
It'll be with a gambling man.

With a gambling man, with a gambling man.

I hear a train a-coming,
Coming round the curve,
Whistling and a-blowing,
And straining every nerve.

Straining every nerve, straining every nerve.

I am a roving gambler,
I've gambled all around,
Wherever I meet with a deck of cards,
I lay my money down.

Lay my money down, lay my money down.