As I write this letter to you, Darlin' 
I can't hold the teardrops from my eyes
For at sundown I will lay a-dyin' 
At the door of the Fool's Paradise
Rode into this cattle town this morning 
Left my bearer to check the market price
And I walked into the nearest bar room 
They call it the Fool's Paradise
There the crowd was gay and girls were dancing
And the men were playing cards and dice
So I stepped up to the bar to join them 
What a grand place, this Fool's Paradise
It was then I showed to them your picture 
I passed it around once or twice
Then a man insulted your sweet honor 
At the bar of the Fool's Paradise
So I slapped his face and I told him,I said, 
"You eat them words, Mister, or draw, that's my advice"
And he said, "Well somebody might get hurt inside,
But I'll be glad to meet you in the street at sundown,
At sundown in front of the Fool's Paradise"
So goodbye my darlin', may God bless you 
I go to make this sacrifice
And if ever you visit old Dodge City 
Remember the Fool's Paradise