There once was a gambler and Westley was his name.
He'd ride many miles for the chance to play his game
And the life-lines surrounded his eyes, so they say,
Like the highways he'd come on his way.
They tell of the lady who came through to rest a while
Weary of the rounders as she was from the miles
On that hot dusty day as she watched him at his play
She thought she heard something far inside her say
Oh young Westley, take me away.
Oh young Westley, take me away.
She could tell he was an outlaw like she'd fell in with before.
She saw herself beside him and on the run once more
But it pained him to remember the life of darkness he once led
And so he told her of a man left lying dead.
So she told him of the ghosts far from lying cold and still
Of windy prairie nights with their lonely haunting chill
How she still could see the faces of the robbers who moved on
Pass before her til the first sun-rays of dawn.
Oh young Westley, take me away.
Oh young Westley, take me away.
People there who knew him say they saw the change come round
Like the grateful smiling laughter of a wanderer who's been found.
But the lady wondered still what kind of game was left to play
And as they saddled up to leave some heard her say:
You live life as a gambler all along the San Joaquin
In your eyes remain the stories of the times you have seen
But your smile across the campfire makes the dream alive again
Of a spirit free to glide across the plain
Oh young Westley, take me away.
Oh young Westley, take me away.
Oh young Westley, take me away.
Oh young Westley, take me away.