It was Saturday night at the County Fair
As I passed behind the Gypsy’s lair
On my way to watch my favourite band
She dragged me in by the hand
Seven cards I will deal for you
Your future life will reveal how true
Three cards only can you draw
You must leave the other four
Sit down young man and listen to me
Old I am but I tell this for free
If the cards bring you luck or deal you harm
I want no silver to cross my palm
There are seven ways to win in life
Seven ways it can end in strife
Whichever three cards that you choose
The other four you must lose
The light was dim and incense she burned
I knew I should leave but you never do learn
Her hands were crabbed but sparkled with rings
She laughed with her eyes as she told me these things
I will deal them face down so you cannot see
Whatever you do you must choose just three
Draw them towards you but do not look
Before you discover the choices you took
First I must show you the other four cards
I must reveal the lives you discard
There are seven ways you can find a wife
And seven ways to ruin your life
Whichever three that you choose
The other four forever you lose
I paused for a minute, maybe it was three
Then drew the cards down towards me
She smiled again – now it’s too late
These cards my friends will seal your fate
Before I explain what life has in store
I will show to you the other four
The three you chose will later reveal
What has been given and what you must steal
There are seven paths in life you may tread
Some will bring joy, some you may dread
These four cards you did not choose
Now I will show the life you did lose
First we turn over the card of Joy
Your first-born child would have been a boy
The second card shows a single red rose
For you, one love only we must dispose
Card number three is completely clear
All you desired and whatever you feared
Would have been yours, it was really your choice
You would only have had to raise your voice
And the fourth is the Joker as you can see
You could have swapped if it were one of your three
For any of the four you thought you had lost
But in life as you know there is always a cost
There are seven chances for luck in your life
And seven sorrows that cut like a knife
Whichever three that you choose
The other four you are bound to lose
The candle flickered, the light grew dimmer
She leaned in close and her face became grimmer
Now we discover your fate my friend
Now you will see how your life will end
There are seven roads you can walk in life
Seven paths but none are alike
Which of the three you may have chosen
The other four to you are frozen
The first card I turned showed a bag of gold
You will be rich before you grow old
Card number two was a single shoe
But you will walk with a limp before you do
There are seven ways towards the light
Seven ways to win the good fight
These three cards may help you some day
But the other four may block your way
The last card I turned showed a dagger through a heart
As it slipped from my hand, I gave such a start
What does it mean I asked the old crone
Does it mean I will live and die all alone
Oh you will know love and many many times
But you will kill each one before the bell chimes
Many women will warm your cold life
But none of them will become your wife
Money you will have but it may cause you pain
As you sit in the sun it will start to rain
Every woman that loves you you’ll break their hearts
It is good to know this from the start
Enjoy your fortune while you may
The cards have been dealt, they have had their say
There were seven cards dealt in your life
Some make you happy, some bring you strife
The three you have chosen will each bear a cost
You will never know the lives you have lost
As I stumbled away my life without hope
I pulled open the tent and tripped on a rope
And there right before me in front of my eyes
Was a wallet, my hands closed around the prize
I met a young girl whose beauty stunned me
A week ago I was sure she had shunned me
I paid for her rides and I took her to dinner
I knew then that I would surely win her
But I knew that this girl who became my lover
Was the first of many, there would be others
I teased her and smiled as I laughed in her face
I won more money and put her back in her place
There were seven cards and I chose three
And even though there was a pain in my knee
I had women a plenty and pots of money
I was happy for a while – isn’t life funny