[Verse 1]
Well, they got a little game called Five Card Draw
They take it serious in Arkansas
You can make a little money wagerin' on cards
You can't get to Heaven livin' this hard

[Refrain]
Deliver me from my sorrow and shame
Release me from my burden and pain

[Verse 2]
It's a one-eyed Jack, the Suicide King
The Ace of Spades and two black Queens
Never draw to an inside straight
I feel a ten's knockin' at the gate

[Refrain]
Deliver me from my sorrow and shame
Release me from my burden and pain

[Chorus]
Oh, blackbird, blackbird, fly away home
Say a prayer over Saint John's bones
Tell the gamblers they're gonna die alone
Blackbird, blackbird, fly away home
Blackbird, blackbird, come back again
Don't tell mama where I've been
Goin' to the river, I'm gonna jump in
Blackbird, blackbird, come back again
[Verse 3]
It's an Ace High Straight and all the same suit
Read 'em and weep, this hand can't lose
Somebody said it ain't good enough
'Cause that don't beat a Mississippi Flush
Mr. Ledbetter, will you tell me again
What's a Mississippi flush and how's it beat this hand?
He said they don't ask questions in the graveyard
It's a small revolver and any five cards

[Refrain]
Deliver me from my sorrow and shame
Release me from my burden and pain

[Chorus]
Oh, blackbird, blackbird, fly away home
Say a prayer over Saint John's bones
Tell the gamblers they're gonna die alone
Blackbird, blackbird, fly away home
Blackbird, blackbird, come back again
Don't tell mama where I've been
Goin' to the river, I'm gonna jump in
Blackbird, blackbird, come back again