C G7 C C7
I had a home down in Texas
F C
Down where the bluebonnets grew
G7 C a
I had the kindest old mother
D7 G G7
How happy we were, just we two
C G7 C
Then one day the angels called her
C7 F
Said they, we’d all have to pay
F C a
She called me close to her bedside
C G7 C
These last few words to say
Son, don’t start drinkin’ and gamblin’
Promise you’ll always go straight
Ten years have passed since that parting
That promise I broke by mistake
I started in gambling for pastime
At last I was just like them all
I bet my clothes and my money
Not dreaming that I’d ever fall
One night I bet all my money
Nothing was left to be seen
And all that I needed to beat them
Was one card, and that was the queen
The cards were dealt all round the table
Each one took a card in the draw
And I drew the one that would beat them
I turned it and here’s what I saw
I saw my mother’s picture
And somehow she seemed to say
«Son, you have broken your promise»
So I tossed the cards all away
The winnings I gave to the newsboy
I knew I was wrong from the start
And I’ll never forget my promise
To my mother, the queen of my heart
YODEL: C G7 C a
D7 G7 C