Granddaddy used to sit me on his knee
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And tell me how it was in the old country
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Famine and floods and crops that failed
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I'd listen for hours as he told his tale
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He said "There must have been a curse on the family name"
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But he swore he'd be the one to break that chain
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With money he saved from the sweat of his brow
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He'd get 'em out of there, someday, somehow
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Well, he never was much of a gambin' man
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But he dreamed of passage to the Promised Land
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Bet it all on a better life in America
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He said "We'll change our fate, and this danged O'Reilly Luck"
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I can only imagine the look on his face
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Tickets in hand, as they counted the days
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Eleven passports, no turnin' back
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Decidin' what they should and shouldn't pack
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But the baby caught the fever just days before
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And the doctor hung a sheet on their front door
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For two long weeks they were quarantined
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Stranded with nothin' but his shattered dream
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Well, he never was much of a gambin' man
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But he dreamed of passage to the Promised Land
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Bet it all on a better life in America
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He said "We'll change our fate, and this danged O'Reilly Luck"
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Granddaddy told this story 'til he passed away
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How the people all cheered from the dock that day
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While he shook his fist with a tear in his eye
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At the beautiful ship of the White Star Line
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And he cursed his fate and his danged O'Reilly Luck
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As the mighty Titanic, sailed into the sun
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Well, he never was much of a gambin' man
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But he found his way to the Promised Land
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Bet it all on a better life in America
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He said "We'll change our fate, and this danged O'Reilly Luck,
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Danged O'Relly Luck..."
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O'Reilly Luck
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Buddy Jewell |