Bet On The Blues

Words & Music by Tom Paxton
sung by John Denver
from I Want To Live (1977)


C7
Five hundred will buy you a stack,
                           F7            F7
Bet it on the red or the black and you lose,
            C7
Bet on the blues.

You tell me you were a gambling man,
                          F7
Try to beat the house if you can and you lose,
            C7
Bet on the blues.

If you're looking to get an inside slant,
                                 F7
If you're looking for something so good you can't refuse,
            C7
Bet on the blues.

Find a man who thinks he's over the hump
                                     F7
And I'm here to tell you he's a kind of a chump you can use,
 F#7(2fr)    G7(3fr)
Bet on the blues,
             C7
Bet on the blues.
 C7
Lucky old sun is shining today,
                     F7
Even money says you'll be paying some dues,
            C7
Bet on the blues.

You say you found your lady fair,
                             F7
Eight to five says she's wearing her traveling shoes,
            C7
Bet on the blues,

Bet on the blues,

Bet on the blues
 C7
Five hundred will buy you a stack,
                           F7
Bet it on the red or the black and you lose,
            C7
Bet on the blues.

If you're looking to get an inside slant,
                                    F7
If you're looking for something so good you can't refuse,
            C7
Bet on the blues, Bet on the blues,

Bet on the blues, Bet on the blues,

Bet on the blues, Bet on the blues,

Bet on the blues, Bet on the blues.