As I write this letter to you darling
I can't hold the teardrops from my eyes
For at sundown I will lay a dying
At the door of the Fool's Paradise.

Rode into this cattle town this morning
Left my bearer to check the market price
And I walked into the nearest barroom
They call it the Fool's Paradise.

There the crowd was gay and girls were dancing
And the men were playing cards and dice
So I stepped up to the bar to join them
What a grand place this Fool's Paradise.

It was then I showed to them your picture
I passed it around once or twice
Then a man insulted your sweet honor
At the bar of the Fool's Paradise.

So I slapped his face and I told him
I said you eat 'em words Mister or draw that's my advice
And he said well somebody might get hurty inside
But I'll be glad to meet you in the street at sundown
At sundown in front of the Fool's Paradise.

So goodbye my darling may God bless you
I go to make this sacrifice
And if ever you visit old Dodge City
Remember the Fool's Paradise...