Your daddy was a gambling man
My mother said to me
He left me when you were a child
But he was all this world to me
I know your daddy loved me too
For tattoo on his arms
Was a heart of love that bored my name
And was his good luck charm
I didn't heed my mother's words
To leave the cards alone
I took to gambling just like dad
And left my mother's home
One night the gang was gathered round
We delt the hand of draw
An old man sat across from me
And this is what I saw
From out his sleeve he pulled the card
And I pulled out my gun
I shot him dead not knowing then
What evil I had done
He fell across the table
His hands reached out in vain
His sleeve slipped back and upon his arm
I could see so plain
I gazed down at his lifeless arm
And I hung my head in shame
For upon his arm was a tattooed heart
And I saw my mother's name