The night was clear And the Moon was yellow And the leaves came tumblin' down I was standin' on the corner When I heard my bull dog bark He was barkin' at the two men Who were gamblin' in the dark It was stagger lee, stagger lee And billy Two men who gambled late Stagger lee threw a seven Billy swore that he threw eight Stagger lee, told billy I can't let you go with that You have won all my money And my brand-new stetson hat Yeah, go stagger lee Yeah, go stagger lee (Go stagger lee) (Go stagger lee) (Go stagger lee) (Go stagger lee) (Go stagger lee) (Go stagger lee) Yeah, stagger lee went at home And he got his 44 He said: I'm goin' to the ballroom Just to pay that debt I owe Stagger lee went to the ballroom And he strolled across the ballroom floor He said you did me wrong, billy And he pulled his Stagger lee said billy Come on ple, please don't, please don't take my life! I've got three little children And a very sickly wife Yeah, stagger lee shot billy He shot that, shot that poor boy so bad Oh that bullet went through billy And broke the bartender's glass Yeah, go stagger lee Go stagger lee Go stagger lee Go go go stagger lee Stagger lee shot billy Shot him bad