Off Beat - Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! That Cigarette

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! That Cigarette topped the charts for 6 weeks in 1947. Written by Merle Davis it was performed by western swing star Tex Williams and his band Western Caravan.

Tex was a heavy smoker, putting away 2 packs a day. Born in 1917 he died at the age of 68 in 1985 of...you guessed it...cancer. He'd cut back to a pack a day after he learned of his disease.

The most famous version of the song was performed by Tex. Other versions include those by Sammy Davis Jr., Willie Nelson, Phil Harris, Jimmy Dean, Commander Cody and Asleep at the Wheel. Here's a latter-day live performance by Tex Williams...

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!(That Cigarette)

Now I'm a fellow with a heart of gold
And the ways of a gentleman I've been told
Kind-of-a-guy that wouldn't even harm a flea
But if me and a certain character met
The guy that invented that cigarette
I'd murder that son-of-a gun in the first degree

It ain't cuz I don't smoke 'em myself
and i don't reckon that it'll hinder your health
I smoked 'em all my life and I ain't dead yet
But nicotine slaves are all the same
at a pettin' party or a poker game
Everything gotta stop while they have a cigarette

CHORUS
Smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette
Puff, puff, puff until you smoke yourself to death.
Tell St. Peter at the Golden Gate
That you hate to make him wait,
But you just gotta have another cigarette.

In a game of chance the other night

Old dame fortune was good and right
The kings and queens they kept on comin' around
Aw, I was hittin' em good and bettin' 'em high
But my bluff didn't work on a certain guy
He kept callin' and layin' his money down

See, he'd raise me then I'd raise him
and I'd say to him buddy ya gotta sink or swim
Finally called me but didn't raise the bet!
--Hmmph! I said Aces Full Pal -- I got you!
He said, "I'll pay up in a minute or two
But right now, i just gotta have another cigarette."

CHORUS

Now the other night I had a date
with the cutest little gal in any state
A high-bred, uptown, fancy little dame
She said she loved me and it seemd to me
That things were sorta like they oughtta be
So hand in hand we strolled down lovers lane

She was a long way from a chunk of ice
And our pettin' party was goin' real nice
And I got an idea I might have been there yet
So I give her a kiss and a little squeeze
Then she said, "Tex, Excuse me Please
But I just gotta have a cigarette."

CHORUS