Summer Wages

Never hit seventeen when you play against the dealer
For you know those odds won't ride with you
And never leave your woman alone with friends around to steal her
Years are gambled and lost like summer wages

So we'll keep rolling on till we get to Vancouver
And a woman that I love is living there
Oh it's been six long months and more since I've seen her
Maybe gambled and lost like summer wages

In all the beer parlors all down on Young Street
The dreams of the seasons all spilled down on the floor
All the big stands of timber are ready for falling
And the hustlers sitting watchfully as they wait there by the door

So, I'll work on those towboats in my slippery city shoes
Which I swore I’d never do again
Through the gray fog-bound straits where the cedars stand watching
I'll be far off and gone like summer wages

And in all the beer parlors all down upon Young Street
The dreams of the seasons spill down on the floor
All the big stands of timber are ready for falling
And the hustlers sitting watchfully as they wait there by the door

For she’s a woman so fine
I might never try to find her
For the memories are all we had before
They should never ever be changed
‘Cause they’re all I’ll take with me
Now I’ve gambled and lost my summer wages

Never hit seventeen when you play against the dealer
For you know the odds won't ride with you
And never leave your woman alone with friends around to steal her
Years are gambled and lost like summer wages