A Gamble Either Way - Dolly Parton

Being born was the worst and the first mistake I ever made

The doctor didn’t spank me, he just slapped me in the face

And the cup of love was always quenching someone else’s thirst

Leaving me to swallow the bitter taste of hurt

Because I was raised an orphan, never wanted as a kid

Until the year I turned 13, then everybody did

Strangers pass me back and forth, men just took me as they pleased

And others had a Cinderella slave to cook and clean and weave

Though the deck is stacked against you

Win or lose, you have to play

The hand that life has dealt you

And it’s a gamble either way

On a dusty road at 15 in a yellow cotton dress

With the desert sun like an angry dragon breathing down my neck

And the dry cracked plains would make me think of a prehistoric time

Should I fear what lay before me less than what I’d left behind?

A 15-year old girl don’t have no trouble hitching rides

But sometimes when you’re riding free, you’ll pay the highest price

On back roads and in back seats and in cheap highway motels

But what’s a few more strangers in a life of nothing else?

Though the deck is stacked against you

Win or lose, you have to play

The hand that life has dealt you

And it’s a gamble either way

Sixteen, caught me crying, underneath the scarlet lights

On the doorsteps of a stranger on a cold and rainy night

When I walked into the parlor here, all the pieces seemed to fit

I was good at pleasing strangers, so I made the most of it

Either way it’s all a gamble

So view the stakes and know the odds

And lay your cards upon the table

Do all the dealing from the top

Though the deck is stacked against you

Win or lose, you have to play

The hand that life has dealt you

And it’s a gamble either way