Capo 1 
 
Fiddle Intro: 
D5   G5   D5   A5   D5   G5   D5   A5   D5 
 
       D5                G5 
Well I spent the better part of my life 
     D5                A5    
On a Mississippi riverboat 
      D5                     G5 
And I used to be known from coast to coast 
       D5        A5        D5 
As the slickest gambler afloat 
  G5                   D5  
I deal the cards from Minnesota  
       A5                D5 
To the harbour at New Orleans 
        G5                     D5 
I made alot of big money on a Riverboat 
          A5                       D5 
And met a lot of pretty Riverboat queens 
 

G5    D5     G5    D5      G5         D5     
Riverboat, Riverboat I love your whistle?s wail 
  G5          D5           G5    D5 
I wish I was back on the Riverboat  
                A5       D5  
Instead of in a Memphis jail 
  G5                     D5  
Instead of in a Memphis jail  
 
 
Well a big man got on the Riverboat 
Our last time in St Paul 
He had a lot of money but his luck ran out 
And the Riverboat crew won it all 
He said I dealt from the bottom of the deck 
And he pulled a shinny knife 
But before that gambler lunged at me 
My 44 took his life 
 
Chorus 
 
Well they came on the boat and they took me to jail 
When we got to Tennessee 
A gambling man has very few friends 
Guess nobody cared for me 
So I might be here for a many long year 
But if I ever get out 
I'm going to head straight for that levy 
And get me a Riverboat heading south 
 
Chorus