The three killers sat by lanternlight
In a shack in the hills in the howling black night
The whiskey uncorked and the cards dealt
The Devil alone wore no gun on his belt
But he smiled like one who had strangled despair
And only the Devil played fair

A dead branch scratched at the cracked window
Through the gaps in the boards a chill wind did blow
Foul blood coughed into a handkerchief
Sunken-eyed and pale a man shook like a leaf
But he didn’t look for sympathy there
And only the Devil played fair

Luck twirled her skirt with hands won and lost
Ugly joy and knife’s-edge rage brittle as frost
The Devil pointed out a hidden Jack
A gunshot put a cheater on his back
But the game went on beside blood, brains and hair
And only the Devil played fair

The Devil said to the cleaned-out outlaw
“I told you straight what we were playing for”
A cylinder spun as six bullets flew
Then there came a claiming of what was due
But there were always more games and players elsewhere
And always the Devil played fair
Only the Devil played fair