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The Winner

In the style of

Bobby Bare

Lyrics

a hulk of a man
with a beer in his hand
he looked like
a drunk old fool

and i knew
if i hit him right
why i could knock him
right off a-that stool

but everybody
they said watch out
hey that's
tiger man mccool

he's had
a whole lot of fights
and he's always
come out a winner
yeah he's a winner

but i'd had myself
about five too many
and i walked up
tall and proud
i faced his back
and i faced the fact
that he had never
stooped or bowed

i said tiger man
you're a pussycat
and a hush fell
on the crowd
i said let's you and me
go outside and see
who's a winner

well
he gripped the bar
with one
big hairy hand
and he braced
against the wall

he slowly looked up
from his beer
my god
that man was tall

he said
boy i see
you're a scrapper
so just before
you fall

i'm gonna tell ya
just a little
'bout what it means
to be a winner

he said now ya see
these bright white
smilin' teeth
you know
they ain't my own

mine rolled away
like chicklets
down the street
in san antone

but i left
that person cursin'
nursin' seven
broken bones

and uh
he only broke
uh three of mine
that makes me
the winner

he said now
behind this grin
i got a steel pin
that holds my jaw
in place
a trophy of
my most successful
motorcycle race

and each mornin'
when i wake
and touch this scar
across my face
it reminds me
of all i got
by bein' a winner

now this broken back
was a dyin' act
of-a handsome
harry clay
that sticky
cincinnati night
i stoled his wife away

but that woman
she gets uglier
and she gets meaner
every day
but i got her boy
and that's
what makes me
a winner

he said
you've gotta
speak loud
when you
challenge me son
'cause it's hard
for me to hear

with this twisted neck
and these
migraine pains
and this big ol'
cauliflower ear

and if it wasn't for
this glass eye of mine
why i'd shed
a happy tear
to think of all
that you're gonna get
by bein' a winner

i got arth-a-ritic
elbows boy
i got
dislocated knees
from pickin' fights
with thunderstorms
and chargin'
into trees

and my nose
been broke
so often
i might lose it
if i sneeze
and son you say
you still wanna be
a winner

now you remind me
a lot of
my younger days
with your knuckles
a-clenchin' white

but boy i'm gonna
sit right here
and sip this beer
all night

and if there's
somethin' that
you gotta
gain or prove
by winnin'
some silly fight

well ok i quit
i lose
you're the winner

so i stumbled
from that barroom
not so tall
and not so proud

and behind me
i still hear the hoots
and laughter
of the crowd

but my eyes still see
and my nose
still works
and my teeth are
still in my mouth
and you know
i guess that makes me
the winner

Details

• Duration : 5:13
• Key : C
• Genre : Specialty
• Year released : 1973
• Language : English

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