jack o diamonds jack o diamonds and i know you of old you ve robbed my poor pockets of silver and gold it s a whiskey you villain you ve been my downfall you ve kicked me you ve cuffed me but i love you for all it s a whiskey rye whiskey rye whiskey i cry if i don t get rye whiskey well i think i will die i ll eat when i m hungry i ll drink when i m dry if the hard times don t kill me i ll lay down and die i ll tune up my fiddle and i ll rosin my bow i ll make myself welcome wherever i go rye whiskey rye whiskey rye whiskey i cry if a tree don t fall on me i ll live till i die beefsteak when i m hungry red liquor when i m dry greenbacks when i m hard up and religion when i die they say i drink whiskey my money s my own all them that don t like me can leave me alone rye whiskey rye whiskey rye whiskey i cry if a tree don t fall on me i ll live till i die sometimes i drink whiskey sometimes i drink rum sometimes i drink brandy at other times none but if i get boozey my whiskey s my own and them that don t like me can leave me alone rye whiskey rye whiskey rye whiskey i cry if a tree don t fall on me i ll live till i die if the ocean was whiskey and i was a duck i d dive to the bottom to get one sweet suck but the ocean ain t whiskey and i ain t a duck so we ll round up the cattle and then we ll get drunk rye whiskey rye whiskey rye whiskey i cry if the whiskey don t kill me i ll live till i die my foot s in my stirrup my bridle s in my hand i m leaving sweet lillie the fairest in the land her parents don t like me they say i m too poor they say i m unworthy to enter her door it s a whiskey rye whiskey rye whiskey i cry if i don t get rye whiskey well i think i will die sweet milk when i m hungry rye whiskey when i m dry if a tree don t fall on me i ll live till i die i ll buy my own whiskey i ll make my own stew if i get drunk madam it s nothing to you rye whiskey rye whiskey rye whiskey i cry if a tree don t fall on me i ll live till i die i ll drink my own whiskey i ll drink my own wine some ten thousand bottles i ve killed in my time i ve no wife to quarrel no babies to bawl the best way of living is no wife at all rye whiskey rye whiskey rye whiskey i cry if a tree don t fall on me i ll live till i die way up on clinch mountain i wander alone i m as drunk as the devil oh let me alone you may boast of your knowledge an brag of your sense twill all be forgotten a hundred years hence rye whiskey rye whiskey you re no friend to me you killed my poor daddy god damn you try me