Capo 1 
 
Fiddle Intro: 
D   G   D   A 
D   G   D   A   D 
 
 
       D                G 
Well I spent the better part of my life 
     D                A    
On a Mississippi riverboat 
      D                     G 
And I used to be known from coast to coast 
       D        A        D 
As the slickest gambler afloat 
  G                   D  
I deal the cards from Minnesota  
       A                D 
To the harbour at New Orleans 
        G                     D 
I made alot of big money on a Riverboat 
          A                       D 
And met a lot of pretty Riverboat queens 
 
G    D     G    D      G         D     
Riverboat, Riverboat I love your whistle's wail 
  G          D           G    D 
I wish I was back on the Riverboat  
                A       D  
Instead of in a Memphis jail 
  G                     D  
Instead of in a Memphis jail  
 
 
Well a big man got on the Riverboat 
Our last time in St Paul 
He had a lot of money but his luck ran out 
And the Riverboat crew won it all 
He said I dealt from the bottom of the deck 
And he pulled a shinny knife 
But before that gambler lunged at me 
My 44 took his life 
 
Chorus 
 
Well they came on the boat and they took me to jail 
When we got to Tennessee 
A gambling man has very few friends 
Guess nobody cared for me 
So I might be here for a many long year 
But if I ever get out 
I'm going to head straight for that levy 
And get me a Riverboat heading south 
 
Chorus