Stagger Lee

In the wee wee hours of the morning
Or deep in the middle of the night
That's when Stagger Lee and Billy
Had that great big fight

I was standing on the corner
When I heard my bulldog bark
He was barking at two men
Who were gambling in the dark

It was Stagger Lee and Billy
Two men who gambled late
Stagger Lee threw a 7 and Billy swore that it was 8

Stagger Lee tol Billy
I can't let you go with that
You have won all my money
And now you grabbed my brand new Stetson hat

So Stagger Lee went home
And he got his 44
He said I'm going back to the bar room
Just to pay that debt that I owe

Stagger Lee went right back down to the bar room
And he swaggered in the bar room door
He said "Now nobody move"
And he pulled his forty four

Stagger Lee cried Billy
Man, please, don't take my life
Cause I got three little children
And a darling lovely wife.

What do I care about your three little children
What do I care about your darling lovely wife
You touched my milk white Stetson
I'm bound to take your life.

Stagger Lee shot Billy
He shot that poor boy so bad
That the bullets went through Billy
And broke the bartenders glass

Billy's wife Nellie, she went down to the bar room
She said "I can't believe my Billy's dead"
Stagger Lee just laughed, he said
"Count the holes in his head"

Gentlemen of the Jury
What do you think of that?
Stagger Lee shot Billy
'bout a five dollar Stetson hat

Stagger Lee he stood before the judge
And the jury they heard him curse
They said " we better kill him
Before he murders one of us first"

Stagger Lee he stood upon the gallows
And he held his head up high
It was twelve o'clock when they killed him
They's all glad to see him die

It took six, six white horses
Carrying that rubber-tired hack
You know they're taking old Stack to the graveyard
Ain't gonna bring him back

All the people coming back from the funeral
Heard a big rumbling underground
That ain't nothin' but old Stack
Turning Billy upside down

Now if you're ever up in St. Louis
And you walk into De Lyons club
Every step you're stepping
In Billy De Lyons blood

You better run Stagger Lee better run
Run Stagger Lee better run
You better run Stagger Lee
Cause the man has got your gun