Well, I'll tell you 'bout a gambler, folks
Jim Weaver was his name
And I don't know where he came from
But gambling was his trade
Ride in here close beside me
I'll tell you about a game
The damnedest game in all my years
I ever did see played

Some said they'd seen him play before
Down on the Barb'ry Coast
He said that might be true enough
'Cause he'd gambled all around
And he lost his stake to a jack high straight
Out at Sutter's Fort
But he'd saved a little poke in case
Of a game within our town

And a lady loves a gambler
Running loose, running free
I felt a tremble deep inside
When I turned around to see
He was looking hard at me

Now the game was set in daddy's tent
An honest man, you know
And all the boys in town were set
To take Jim Weaver's gold
'Cause digging gold is hard work
And panning is too slow
And I saw Jim Weaver smiling
At some little private joke

Well, by midnight he had all the gold
That the boys in town had saved
They never caught him cheating
Though they watched him all the while
And he never lost a single hand
At any game he played
He never lost a dollar, boys
And he never lost his smile

And a lady loves a gambler
Smiling free, smiling wide
I knew I wouldn't rest
'Til I was smiling by his side
Smiling as we'd ride

Soon all the boys were busted flat
But they wanted still to play
So they asked Jim Weaver what was left
To gamble in the game
He said he'd cut high cards one time
And if he lost he'd pay
But if he won they had to swear
To give the town his name

And he told my daddy he would bet
Ten dollars on the side
And I could be my daddy's stake
If I would so agree
And I rode out of Weaverville
Next morning as his bride
And I left the town that bears the name
Of the gambling man and me.

And a lady loves a gambler
If he cheats all the same
And no one saw me slip to him
The ace that won the game
And gave the town our name!