Ian Tyson

I woke up this morning with Summer Wages going through my brain. Summer Wages is a song written by Ian Tyson. Born in 1933 in Victoria, British Columbia, Ian has won several awards and wrote the song Four Strong Winds, which was recorded by Neil Young and several other singers.

Summer Wages

Never hit 17 when you play against the dealer
You know that the odds won't ride with you
Never leave your woman alone when your friends are there to steal her
She'll be gambled and gone like summer wages

And we'll roll on til we get to Vancouver
And the lady that I love she's living there
Its been six long months and more since I've seen her
Maybe she's gambled and gone like summer wages

Chorus
In all the beer parlors
All down along main street
The dreams of the season are spilled down on the floor
All the big stands of timber wait there just for fallin'
The hookers stand watchfully waitin' by the door

I'm going to work on them towboats with my slippery city shoes
Lord I swore I would never do again
Through the great fog bound straight
Where the cedars stand waitin
I'll be lost and gone like summer wages

Chorus

...and the years are gambled and lost like summer wages