There's a solitary man crying hold me   It's only because he's lonely    If the keeper of time runs slowly    He won't be alive for long       If he only had time to tell of all of the things he planned    With a card up his sleeve,    What would he achieve?    It means nothing       To the opium den and the barroom gin    In the Belmont chair playing violins    The gambler's face cracks into a grin    As he lays down the king of spades       But the dealer just stares    There's something wrong here, he thinks    The gambler is seized and forced to his knees    And shot dead       He only wanted more time    Away from the darkest door    But his luck it gave in    As the dawn light crept in    And he lay on the floor       From the Hundred Year War to the Crimea    With a lance and a musket and a Roman spear    To all of the men who have stood with no fear    In the service of the King       Before you met your fate be sure you    Did not forsake your lover    May not be around anymore      There's a solitary man crying hold me   It's only because he's lonely    If the keeper of time runs slowly    He won't be alive for long