Never hit seventeen
When you play against the dealer
You know that the odds
Won't ride with you
Never leave your woman alone
With your friends around to steal her
She'll be gambled and gone
Like summer wages

And we'll keep rollin on
Till we get to Vancouver
And the lady that I love
Shes living there
Its been six long months
And more since I've seen her
Maybe she's gambled and gone
Like summer wages

(Chorus)
In all the beer parlors
All down along Main Street
The dreams of the season
Are spilled down on the floor
All the big stands of timber
Wait there just for fallin'
The hookers standing watchfully
Waitin by the door
I'm going to work on them towboats
With my slippery city shoes
Lord I swore I would never do that again
Through the great fog bound straights
Where the cedars stand waitin
I'll be lost and gone
Like summer wages

In all the beer parlors
All down along Main Street
The dreams of the season
Are spilled down on the floor
All the big stands of timber
Wait there just for fallin'
The hookers waiting watchfully
Standing by the door

Never hit seventeen
When you play against the dealer
You know that the odds
Won't ride with you
Never leave your woman alone
With your friends around to steal her
She'll be gambled and gone
Like summer wages
And the years are gambled and lost
Like summer wages