Lyrics to
Gamblin’ Man

This version of Gamblin’ Man was released by Bonnie Raitt in 1977.

Our About Bonnie Raitt page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Gamblin’ Man from 1977 as well as all of the other lyrics from Bonnie Raitt that we have in our lyrics database.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Bonnie Raitt or about the 1970s in general.

Their eyes are down and the track looks slow
It don’t look like a good thing
Your horse could jump it when the pack runs wild
It don’t look like a sure thing

You must be crazy
To gamble this way
The kids are crying
And your bills ain’t paid
Gamblin’ man, ramblin’ fool
I must be crazy to gamble on you

The deal is done so you slip right in
You got the depth but you can’t win
The cards are cold and the cut feels thin
You got the deck but you can’t win

You must be crazy
To gamble this way
The kids are hungry
And your brain ain’t paid
Gamblin’ man, ramblin’ fool
I must be crazy to gamble on you
Gamblin’ man, you’re a ramblin’ fool
I must be crazy to gamble on you

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Bonnie Raitt has released many songs over the years besides Gamblin’ Man. Bonnie Raitt released songs from 1971 to 2005 spanning across albums like Bonnie Raitt, Give It Up, Takin' My Time, Streetlights, Home Plate, Sweet Forgiveness, The Glow, Green Light, Nine Lives, Nick Of Time, Luck Of The Draw, Longing In Their Hearts, Fundamental, Silver Lining, and Souls Alike. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Bonnie Raitt.

If you're a fan of lyrics from 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1977 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Gamblin’ Man by Bonnie Raitt

The lyrics for Gamblin’ Man are defined as the words making up the song released by Bonnie Raitt in 1977. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to Gamblin’ Man have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only Bonnie Raitt and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to Gamblin’ Man by Bonnie Raitt if you think through it. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Gamblin’ Man" means the words set to the music of Gamblin’ Man, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Bonnie Raitt. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Gamblin’ Man and the lyrics to Gamblin’ Man are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Bonnie Raitt who came here looking just for the lyrics to Gamblin’ Man, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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