Ballads of a Cheechako by Robert W. (Robert William) Service
page 41 of 77 (53%)
page 41 of 77 (53%)
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The music throbs with soft, seductive beat.
There's glitter, gilt and gladness; there are pretty girls galore; There's a woolly man with moccasins on feet. They know they've got him going; he is buying wine for all; They crowd around as buzzards at a feast, Then when his poke is empty they boost him from the hall, And spurn him in the gutter like a beast. He's the man from Eldorado, and he's painting red the town; Behind he leaves a trail of yellow dust; In a whirl of senseless riot he is ramping up and down; There's nothing checks his madness and his lust. And soon the word is passed around--it travels like a flame; They fight to clutch his hand and call him friend, The chevaliers of lost repute, the dames of sorry fame; Then comes the grim awakening--the end. IV. He's the man from Eldorado, and he gives a grand affair; There's feasting, dancing, wine without restraint. The smooth Beau Brummels of the bar, the faro men, are there; The tinhorns and purveyors of red paint; The sleek and painted women, their predacious eyes aglow-- Sure Klondike City never saw the like; Then Muckluck Mag proposed the toast, "The giver of the show, The livest sport that ever hit the pike." The "live one" rises to his feet; he stammers to reply-- |
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