Fool's Paradise

As I write this letter to you, darling
I can't hold the teardrops from my eyes
For at sundown I will lay a-dyin'
At the door of the fool's paradise

Rode into this border town this morning
Left my herd to check the market price
And I walked into the nearest bar room
They call it the fool's paradise

There the crowd was gay and girls were dancing
And the men were playing cards and dice
So I stepped up to the bar to join them
A grand place, this fool's paradise

It was then I showed them your picture
I passed it around once or twice
Then a man insulted your honor
At the bar of the fool's paradise

So I hit him in the face and I said to him
I said, "Eat them words, mister, or draw"
And he said that folks might get hurt here inside
But that he'd meet me on the street at sundown
At sundown in front of the fool's paradise

So goodbye, my darling, may God bless you
I go to make the sacrifice
And if ever you visit old El Rio
Think of me and the fool's paradise