Girl I Left Behind

I've always been a rambler
my (4/5) fortune's been quite 1 hard
I've always loved the women
drink (4) whiskey and play 1 cards
My parents treated me kindly
as they (4) had no boy but 1 me
My mind was bent on rambling
at (4/5) home I couldn't a 1 gree

There was a wealthy farmer
who lived in the country by
He had a beautiful daughter
to whom I cast an eye
She was so tall and handsome
so pretty and so fair
There never was a girl in this wide world
to her I could compare

I asked if it made any difference
if I crossed o'er the plain
She said I'd made no difference
if you return again
She said that she'd prove true to me
until I proved unkind
So we shook hands and parted
and I left that girl behind

I traveled out one morning
to the salt works I were bound
And when I reached the salt works
I viewed the city all around
Where the work and money were plentiful
and the girls treated me kind
But the only object of my heart
was the one I left behind

I rambled out one evening
down on the public square
The mail had just arriven
I met the carrier there
He handed me a letter
which caused me to understand
That the girl I left in Tennessee
had married another man

I read a few lines further
and I found out it was true
My heart was filled with tumult
I didn't know what to do
My heart was filled with trouble
and trouble was on my mind
I'm goin' to drink and gamble
for the girl I left behind