The night was clear
And the moon was yellow
And the leaves came tumbling down
I was standing on the corner
When I heard my bulldog bark
He was barkin' at the two men who were gamblin'
In the dark
It was Stagger Lee and Billy Two men who gambled late
Stagger Lee threw seven
Billy swore that he threw eight
Stagger Lee told Billy
I can't let you go with that
'Cause you have won all my money and my brand new
Stetson hat
Stagger Lee went home
Got his forty-four
He said, I'm goin' to the barroom
Debt I owe
Stagger Lee went to the barroom
And he stood across the barroom door
He said, now don't nobody move and he pulled his
Forty-four
Stagger Lee, cried Billy
Oh, please, don't take my life
I've got three little children and a very
Sickly wife
Stagger Lee shot Billy
Oh, he shot that poor boy so bad
The bullet went through Billy and
It broke the bartender's glass
And the moon was yellow
And the leaves came tumbling down
I was standing on the corner
When I heard my bulldog bark
He was barkin' at the two men who were gamblin'
In the dark
It was Stagger Lee and Billy Two men who gambled late
Stagger Lee threw seven
Billy swore that he threw eight
Stagger Lee told Billy
I can't let you go with that
'Cause you have won all my money and my brand new
Stetson hat
Stagger Lee went home
Got his forty-four
He said, I'm goin' to the barroom
Debt I owe
Stagger Lee went to the barroom
And he stood across the barroom door
He said, now don't nobody move and he pulled his
Forty-four
Stagger Lee, cried Billy
Oh, please, don't take my life
I've got three little children and a very
Sickly wife
Stagger Lee shot Billy
Oh, he shot that poor boy so bad
The bullet went through Billy and
It broke the bartender's glass