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shaky jake - david holt and the lightning bolts lyrics

it was august in the city and everything was still
fat women gossiped back and forth on the ghetto windowsill
the wine-o’s and the alley-cats were keeping to the shade
beneath the rusted fire escape where the ragged children played
the unemployed were swapping stories and sipping on their brew
while the hustlers shot for dollars down at big al’s rack and cue
where the hookers chew their chewing gum and the old men sit and sigh
to the clicking of the cue b-lls and the buzzing of the flies

well the kid came in to play a game, with anyone who would
no-one would take his offer, they could all see the kid was good
then an old man in a derby, he came stepping from the crowd
we could tell he was a stranger, as he tipped his hat and bowed
he stuck out a trembling hand and said, shaky jake’s the name
i don’t play much anymore, but i’ll go you one game
well the kid had found a sucker, and the word was p-ssed around
and the local boys all gathered in, and the bets started going down
and like a foolish stranger, i bet on shaky jake
but how’s a man to know he’e being set up for the take

well the kid was cool as a frozen dog as he chalked and made the break
oh you could see that he was confident he’d beat old shaky jake
banks and cuts and straight in ducks, the kid could do no wrong
and the patrons of the pool game, clapped their hands and cheered him on
the kid ran fifty four straight b-lls, chalked at fifty five
you could cut the tension in the pool hall, with a rusty pocket knife
he called two rails and the side, and the ball began to roll
and a sickly moan escaped the crowd, as it stopped just short of the hole

well the kid sat down and jake stood up and looked around the room
said i like the way you shoot kid, but i think you quit too soon
now that brought a roar of laughter, that was filled with open scorn
’cause jakey shook like a windowpane in a violent thunderstorm
but the laughter kind of died away when jake began to shoot
and the two-bit gamblers bit their lips and shuffled in their boots
jake ran fifty four straight b-lls, one more would win the game
and the boys back in the corner, started counting out their change
and when with great finesse and form, he sank that final ball
you could almost hear the dirty paint, peeling off the walls

was shaky jake that won that game, to that there was no doubt
and the bets were being collected, as the pool hall emptied out
you see lots of money rode that game, and i’m glad the losers paid
’cause i’m the only one in the whole d-mn place, who bet on shaky jake

and later on that evening on a highway leaving town
we divided up the winnings, and we p-ssed the bottle round
you see some men play for glory, some men play for fame
but for me and the kid and shaky jake, it’s a whole different game

- david holt and the lightning bolts lyrics

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