American folksong of relatively recent origin first collected in 1909, and known under many different names including “The Gambler”, “Roaming Gambler”, “Gambling Man”, and “Roving Soldier”. Roving Gambler or Rovin’ Gambler is a story song that in four pairs of verses takes the listener from California to Maine, from gunplay to prison. Larry Sparks’ classic recording of the song. Even if this song is not your cup of tea, you can use this number to explore yet another way of combining the 1, 4, and 5 chords that comprise so many bluegrass songs. Let’s start by taking a look at the words and the chords to the 1st Verse: I (1) am a roving (1) gambler, I’ve (1) gambled all a- (1) round – Wher- (4) ever I meet with a (1) deck of cards I (4) lay my money (1) down – (1) Lay my money (1) down, (5) Lay my money (1) down (1). This is a quite widespread old song that shares roots with “The Cuckoo”and “Jack of Diamonds” songs. It was conspicuously absent from the 1960 Alan Lomax collection “Folk Songs of North America.” It seems to have spread around after a recording by cowboy singer Carson Robison in the 1930’s, and as a result of being sung by Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houstonand that infl uential clique of folk music trendsetters. Simon & Garfunkeleven recorded it for their best-selling 1966 album “Sounds of Silence,” but it was not released until 2001. Our version resembles the earliest recording by Kelly Harrell in 1925. Bob Dylan has played the song for decades, and wrote some nice new verses to it you might try. He opened his concert with it on his return to the Newport Folk Festival in 2003, 40 years after his famous and quite controversial performance there with a rock band.
Songs with Banjo from Harold Hagler
