This town is full of guys who think they're mighty wise
Just because they know a thing or two
You can see them every day, strolling up and down Broadway
Telling of the wonders they can do
You'll see wise guys and boosters
Card sharps and crap shooters
They congregate around the Metropole
They wear those flashy ties and collars
But where they get their dollars
They've all got an ace down in the hole

Some of them write to the old folks for coin
That's their ace in the hole
Others have girls on that old tenderloin
That's their ace in the hole

They'll tell you of trips they are going to take
From Frisco up to the North Pole
But they'd end up on that line, in their clothes not a dime
If they lost that old ace in the hole

Wherever you might stray, along the Great White Way
They'll corner you and start in telling lies
Of oil wells in Nebraska and gold mines in Alaska
You'll be immersed in bullshit to your eyes
But every hustler knows
Bullshit buys no clothes
And only cold cash keeps you off the dole
So some of them wash dishes
And some of them are snitches
But all of them have aces in the hole
Drifters who dwell on that slippery slope
Grifters who jump their parole
Trying to sell bags of catnip for dope
That's their ace in the hole

They'll tell you of money they've made and they've spent
And flash a Missouri bankroll
But their names would be mud
Like a chump dealing stud
If they lost that old ace in the hole