Track Title:               If It Wasn't For Bad Luck
Album Title:               Genius & Soul, The 50th Anv. Coll. Vol. 4

Prime Artist:              Ray Charles     (Robinson)
Vocal:                     Jimmy Lewis
Drums:                     Billy Moore
Guitar:                    Freddy Robinson

Bass:                      Edgar Willis
Saxophone:                 Leroy (Hog) Cooper
Saxophone:                 Andrew Ennis
Saxophone:                 Edlin Buddy Terry

Trumpet:                   Philip Guilbeau
Trumpet:                   Wallace Davenport
Producer:                  Joe Adams
Written by:                Ray Charles     (Robinson)

Written by:                Jimmy Lewis
Trombone:                  Henry Coker
From the Album:            Doing His Thing  1969 (A)
Lyrics:
Ray Charles
     Jimmy Lewis
[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 wouldn't 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 wanna holler a little bit Made me feel like I wanna Aahhhhhhh-ow! Yeah man, when I run into that situation, makes me wanna cry a little bit like this Ooh-hoo! {fade} Transcribed by Todd Peach http://www.thepeaches.com/music/