Summer Wages Lyrics & Chords By Nanci Griffith

(words and music by Ian Tyson)

Never hit seventeen when you play against the dealer,
You know that the odds won't ride with you.
And 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 rolling on 'til we get to Vancouver
And the woman that I love, she's living there.
It's been six long months and more since I've seen her,
Maybe she's gambled and gone like summer wages.

BRIDGE:
In all the beer parlors all down along Main Street
The dreams of the seasons get all spilled out on the floor,
All the big stands of timber just waiting for falling
And the hookers standing watchfully, waiting by the door.

So I'll work on the towboats with my slippery city shoes,
Lord! I swore I would never that do again.
Through the the gray fog-bound straits where the cedars stand watching
I'll be far off and gone like summer wages

(repeat bridge)

Never hit seventeen when you play against the dealer,
You know that the odds won't ride with you.
And 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