My daddy was a handsome gambler He had a chain five miles long On every link a heart gets dangled Of another maid he loved and wronged He told to you some loving story He'd make you think he'd leave them true But love grows cold as love grows older And fades away like morning dew I'd rather be in some dark hollow Where the sun refused to shine Than to live here in Missouri With your memory always on my mind Come all ye fair and tender ladies Take warning how your court your man They're like a star on a summer's morning First they appear then they're gone again