Ray Charles
Jimmy Lewis (indented)
[both together]

[Uh-Uh]
Wait a minute, Jimmy, look here
I'm listenin'
As I was wakin' up this mornin'
Well well
Oh Lord, you know I felt pretty good, Yes I did
I began to stretch and yawn
What for Ray?
Just to see if I could
I can dig it

All at once I got a funny feelin'
That something around here was goin on wrong
Hmm
So you know what I did Jimmy?
What?
I got up and I began to look all around for my baby
Was that it?
That was it, you know the woman had packed up and gone
Oh lord

That's why I say if everybody went to heaven
Hey-ey-ey, I believe I'd miss the call
But you see if it wasn't for bad luck,
Trying to tell you son if it wasn't for bad luck, now now
Oh, oh, I wouldn't have no luck at all
Would you believe I wouldn't have no luck at all

Looka here Ray, you think your luck is bad?
Listen ta what happen to me
Alright
Now listen now
Got a tip on a horse someone gave me, hey hey
Yeah
Pawned my last suit to make the bet
No you didn't
Yes I did
Put every dime I had on him, ah
What?
Listen, you know he ain't showed up yet

Oh! Tell ya I got so disgusted now
Yeah
Said I'll go back home and sleep some more
Now that seem like the right thing to do
But by the time I got back to my room
Are you listenin' Ray?
Yeah yeah, I'm payin' attention
You know the landlord had padlocked my door
Why that dirty . . .

Tell ya a slow horse and a fast woman
Hey hey hey lord they sure did let me fall
That's why I say ah
If it wasn't for bad luck sugar now
Hey if it wasn't for bad luck y'all
Oh! I wouldn't have no luck at all

Oh Ray, listen, I wouldn't have no luck at all
Huh-Yep. But wait a minute, you ain't heard nothin' yet
Let me tell you what happened
Tell me about it

I decided I'd go out walkin'
Say what?
Um-hm. And you know even that failed
Now how can a walk fail, Ray?
Because some man snatched a woman's pocketbook way across town
Say what?
Yeah, and uh guess who they put in jail?
Do tell, do tell

Jimmy, I just can't understand it
I know what you mean
I know there's got to be some kind of explanation
There's got to be, there's got to be
Lord, lord, lord, lord I ain't done nothing wrong
So tell me why I'm doing two years probation
Man I don't know, I got the same trouble

They got me having to walk a chump line
Say what?
Oh, with my, with my back up against a wall
That's tough, Ray
That's why if it wasn't for bad luck sugar
Oh I tell everybody if it wasn't for bad luck now now
I believe, I believe I would have no luck at all
I just would have no luck at all
Looka here Ray, let me tell you something
Hm?
Now you know, you know about this here
Yeah
You know I was sittin' home one evening,
Well I didn't have a thing to do
Yeah, that's happened to me sometimes
So I thought I'd go out dancin', you know
Yeah, yeah
And do a little of that boogaloo
I, I kinda like that myself
Finally, I got myself a partner, now
Yeah
But old Ray, wouldn't you know
Mm-hm, somthing musta happened bad
Some man said, "You got my woman, boy"
Uh oh
And he stood about seven foot four
Oops! Oops!
As they walked away I stood there
Feeling kinda sad and kinda small
That's why I say If it wasn't for bad luck sugar

[whoa, if it wasn't for bad luck, y'all now
hey, hey, hey, we'd have no luck at all]

Hey now!
Yeah, I say we would have no luck at all
Jimmy, I want you to tell me about that
seven foot four What did you do!
Well Ray, anytime a man is seven foot four and you
messin' with his woman, it's time for you to go
Oh yeah?
Lord have mercy
I, I, I, I can understand it,
it made you feel like you want to holler a little bit
Made me feel like I want to Aahhhhhhh-ow!
Yeah man, when I run into that situation,
makes me want to cry a little bit like this Ooh-hoo!

Copyright: THE RAY CHARLES FOUNDATION DBA TANGERINE MUSIC
Writer(s): JAMES LEWIS, RAY CHARLES