Now I'm a fella with a heart of gold
With the ways of a gentleman
I've been told
The kind of a guy that wouldn't even harm a flea.

But if me and a certain character met
Thet guy that invented the cigarette
I'd murder that son of a gun in the first degree.

Course, it ain't cause I don't smoke myself
And I don't reckon they injure your health
I've smoked 'em all my life and I ain't dead yet.

But nicotine slaves are all the same
At a petting party or a poker game
Everything's gotta stop while they smoke the cigarette.

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! that cigarette.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
And if you smoke yourself to death

Tell Saint Peter at the golden gate
That you hate to make him wait
You gotta have another cigarette.

In a game of chance the other night
Old Dame Fortune was doing me right
The kings and queens just kept on coming around.

I got a full and I bet it high
But my bluff didn't work on a certain guy
He just kept on raising and laying the money down.

 

He'd raised me; I'd raise him
I sweated blood, you gotta sink or swim
He finally called, and didn't raise the bet.

I said, "Aces full, pal.  How about you?"
He said, "I'll tell you in just a minute or two
But right now I just gotta have myself a cigarette."

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! that cigarette
Puff! Puff! Puff!
And if you smoke yourself to death

Tell Saint Peter at the golden gate
That you hate to make him wait
You gotta have another cigarette.

The other night I had me a date
With the cutest little gal in these 50 states
One of them high bred up-town fancy little dames.

She said she loved me, and it seemed to me
That everything's about like it oughta be
So hand in hand we strolled down lover's lane.

She was oh so far from a chunk of ice
Our smooching party was going real nice
So help me Hannah, I think I'd been there yet.

I give her a kiss; a little squeeze
She said, "Tex, excuse me please
But I've got to have a filter cigarette."

 

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! that cigarette
Puff! Puff! Puff!
And if you smoke yourself to death

Tell Saint Peter at the golden gate
That you hates to make him wait
You got to have another cigarette.

This song was written in 1947 by Merle Travis during a time when cigarette smoking was a respectable and acceptable habit, and a part of the life-style of many men and women.  At that time we were not concerned or worried about the effect cigarette smoking had on our health, although the lyrics to this song does allude to the fact that smoking was a powerful addiction.

At one time, smokers were a part of majority, but today they are quickly becoming a minority.  State laws are changing so that smokers are not allowed to smoke in public places.  Health issues regarding cigarette smoking are taking center stage with second-hand smoke becoming as harmful as the smoke inhaled by the smoker.  And finally, the price of cigarettes has risen so much that cigarette smoking almost fits into the category of a luxury item.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I just gotta have another . . . .

CUP OF COFFEE!!