I had a home out in Texas,
down where the blue bonnets grew
I had the kindest old mother;
how happy we were just we two
Till one day the angels called her,
the debt we all have to pay
She called me close to her bedside,
these last few words to say.
"Son, don't start drinking and gambling,
promise you'll always go straight."
Ten years have passed since that parting,
that promise I've broke, I must say
I started in gambling for pastime,
at last I was just like them all
I bet my clothes and my money,
not dreaming that I'd ever fall.
One night I bet all my money,
nothing was left to be seen
All that I needed to break them was one card,
and that was a queen
The cards were dealt all 'round the table,
each man took a card on the draw
I drew the one that would beat them;
I turned it and here's what I saw.
I saw my mother's picture,
and somehow she seemed to say
"Son, you have broken your promise,"
so I tossed the cards away
My winnings I gave to a newsboy,
I knew I was wrong from the start
And I'll ne'er forget that promise,
to Mother, the queen of my heart.