the night was clear and the moon was yellow and the leaves came tumbling down i was standing on the corner when i heard my bulldog bark he was barkin at two men who was gamblin in the dark ah yeah it was stagger lee and billy two men who gambled late stagger lee threw seven billy swore that he threw eight ah yeah stagger lee told billy oh you know i ain t goin for that you done won all my money and my brand new cadillac a looka here y all now stagger lee went home and he brought back a long forty four he said i got to pay billy a little debt i owe listen let me tell ya stagger lee went to the barroom and he stood on the barroom floor he said don t nobody move and he pulled his forty four yes he did y all stagger lee cried billy oh please don t take my life i got three little children and a very sickly wife oh yeah stagger lee shot billy oh he shot that poor boy so bad that the bullet went through billy broke the bartender s glass yes he did y all  well billy s gone on home now but one thing about it it ll teach the rest of you gamblers a lesson billy s gone on home left three children to weep and moan he s gone on home ah yeah gone on home he can t shake rattle and roll no more cause he s gone on home