Poor Boy
Rambling Ways and Reckless Nights: The Tale of a Poor Boy
Lyrics
My mother called me to her bedside
The speaker's mother summons him to her bedside.
These words she said to me
The mother imparts advice or a message to the speaker.
If you don't quit your rambling ways
The mother warns against the speaker's wandering or unsettled lifestyle.
They're gonna get you in the penitentiary
A potential consequence of the speaker's actions is being incarcerated.
Gonna get you in the penitentiary poor boy
Reiteration of the warning about ending up in prison.
Gonna get you in the penitentiary
Repetition of the warning about the penitentiary.
If you don't quit your reckless ways
Another caution against the speaker's reckless behavior.
They're gonna get you in the penitentiary
Reiteration of the potential consequence of imprisonment.
So I sat myself down in a gambling game
The speaker engages in a gambling game.
But I could not play my hand
The speaker struggles to play his hand due to thoughts of a woman he loves.
Just thinking about that woman I love
The woman the speaker loves has left him for another man.
Run away with another man
The woman ran away with another man, causing distress to the speaker.
Run away with another man poor boy
Reiteration of the woman running away with another man.
Run away with another man
Repetition of the distressing event of the woman leaving.
Just thinking about that woman I love
Continuation of the speaker's thoughts about the departed woman.
Run away with another man
Reiteration of the woman running away with another man.
The cards came around the table lord
Cards are being dealt in a gambling setting.
And I had such a worried mind
The speaker is troubled while participating in the card game.
My stack of gold dollars I wasted away
The speaker loses a significant amount of money (gold dollars) while gambling.
And I lost about ninety-nine
The speaker loses approximately ninety-nine units of currency.
I lost about ninety-nine poor boy
Repetition of the significant loss in gambling.
I lost about ninety-nine
Reiteration of the speaker's substantial monetary loss.
My stack of gold dollars I wasted away
Repetition of the speaker's significant loss in gold dollars.
And I lost about ninety-nine
Reiteration of the approximate loss of ninety-nine units of currency.
It wasn't very long till I seen him again
The speaker encounters the man who ran away with the woman.
He ran away left her behind
The man abandoned the woman, leaving her behind.
And I laid him down with my old forty-four
The speaker confronts and possibly harms the man with a firearm.
And the judge gave me ninety-nine
The speaker faces legal consequences, receiving a sentence of ninety-nine years.
The judge gave me ninety-nine poor boy
Reiteration of the lengthy sentence imposed by the judge.
The judge gave me ninety-nine
Repetition of the severe sentence given by the judge.
I laid a man down with my big forty-four
Reiteration of the speaker using a firearm against the man.
And the judge gave me ninety-nine
Repetition of the severe ninety-nine-year sentence.
Well the jury said I had to pay
The jury orders the speaker to make restitution.
And the clerk he wrote it down
The clerk records the speaker's obligation to pay.
And the judge called out my number
The judge announces the speaker's identification or case number.
Two sixes upside down
A peculiar notation of the speaker's number, possibly indicating bad luck.
Two sixes upside down poor boy
Reiteration of the unusual number called out by the judge.
Two sixes upside down
Repetition of the peculiar number mentioned by the judge.
The judge called out my number
Repetition of the judge's announcement of the speaker's unique number.
Two sixes upside down
Reiteration of the distinctive number, possibly suggesting a twist of fate.
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