Ever since I was a boy I wake every morning with a song or a tune in my head. Today it's THE GANGSTER'S WARNING. My Mother taught it to me when I was about 10 or so.
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I was brought up by kind and good parents,
My life was their pride and their joy,
But I took up drinking for pass time,
This life got the best of their boy,
Some pals took me out on a robbery,
Just once I thought would be fun,
But one crime led to another,
Until it led to the use of a gun.


I wish I had listened to Mother,
She said there would be days like this,
I've lost all my true friends and sweethearts,
No more will I know love's sweet bliss,



It seems there's no hope for a gangster,
A true one will never be found,
Wherever they go they are hunted,
Like a fox being chased by a hound,
I'm leaving a trail that is crooked,
My foes lurk behind every bend,
I know some day they will get me,
And I dread to think of the end.
Young men stay away from bad company,
That's how I started in wrong,
So if your pals try to tempt you,
Remember the words of this song.


This doesn't seem to scan very well, maybe I'm forgetting a verse. It's been about 65 years.