Ya Got Trouble Lyrics - Music Man

Well, ya got trouble, my friend, right here, 

I say, trouble right here in River City. 

Why sure I'm a billiard player, 

Certainly mighty proud I say 

I'm always mighty proud to say it. 

I consider that the hours I spend 

With a cue in my hand are golden. 

Help you cultivate horse sense 

And a cool head and a keen eye. 

Did ya ever take and try to give 

An iron-clad leave to yourself 

From a three-rail billiard shot? 

But just as I say, 

It takes judgement, brains, and maturity to score 

In a baulk line game, 

I say that any boob can take 

And shove a ball in a pocket. 

And they call that sloth. 

The first big step on the road 

To the depths of deg-ra-Day-- 

I say, first, medicinal wine from a teaspoon, 

Then beer from a bottle. 

An' the next thing ya know, 

Your son is playin' for money 

In a pinch-back suit. 

And list'nin to some big out-a-town Jasper 

Hearin' him tell about horse-race gamblin'. 

Not a wholesome trottin' race, no! 

But a race where they set down right on the horse! 

Like to see some stuck-up jockey'boy 

Sittin' on Dan Patch? Make your blood boil? 

Well, I should say. 

Friends, let me tell you what I mean. 

You got one, two, three, four, five, six pockets in a table. 

Pockets that mark the diff'rence 

Between a gentlemen and a bum, 

With a capital "B," 

And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool! 

And all week long your River City 

Youth'll be frittern away, 

I say your young men'll be frittern! 

Frittern away their noontime, suppertime, choretime too! 

Get the ball in the pocket, 

Never mind gittin' Dandelions pulled 

Or the screen door patched or the beefsteak pounded. 

Never mind pumpin' any water 

'Til your parents are caught with the Cistern empty 

On a Saturday night and that's trouble, 

Oh, yes we got lots and lots a' trouble. 

I'm thinkin' of the kids in the knickerbockers, 

Shirt-tail young ones, peekin' in the pool 

Hall window after school, ya got trouble, folks! 

Right here in River City. 

Trouble with a capital "T" 

And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool! 

Now, I know all you folks are the right kinda parents. 

I'm gonna be perfectly frank. 

Would ya like to know what kinda conversation goes 

On while they're loafin' around that Hall? 

They're tryin' out Bevo, tryin' out cubebs, 

Tryin' out Tailor Mades like Cigarette Fiends! 

And braggin' all about 

How they're gonna cover up a tell-tale breath with Sen-Sen. 

One fine night, they leave the pool hall, 

Headin' for the dance at the Arm'ry! 

Libertine men and Scarlet women! 

And Rag-time, shameless music 

That'll grab your son and your daughter 

With the arms of a jungle animal instinct! 

Mass-steria! 

Friends, the idle brain is the devil's playground! 

People: 

Trouble, oh we got trouble, 

Right here in River City! 

With a capital "T" 

That rhymes with "P" 

And that stands for Pool, 

That stands for pool. 

We've surely got trouble! 

Right here in River City, 

Right here! 

Gotta figure out a way 

To keep the young ones moral after school! 

Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble... 

Harold: 

Mothers of River City! 

Heed that warning before it's too late! 

Watch for the tell-tale sign of corruption! 

The minute your son leaves the house, 

Does he rebuckle his knickerbockers below the knee? 

Is there a nicotine stain on his index finger? 

A dime novel hidden in the corn crib? 

Is he starting to memorize jokes from Capt. 

Billy's Whiz Bang? 

Are certain words creeping into his conversation? 

Words like, like 'swell?" 

And 'so's your old man?" 

Well, if so my friends, 

Ya got trouble, 

Right here in River city! 

With a capital "T" 

And that rhymes with "P" 

And that stands for Pool. 

We've surely got trouble! 

Right here in River City! 

Remember the Maine, Plymouth Rock and the Golden Rule! 

Oh, we've got trouble. 

We're in terrible, terrible trouble. 

That game with the fifteen numbered balls is a devil's tool! 

Oh yes we got trouble, trouble, trouble! 

With a "T"! Gotta rhyme it with "P"! 

And that stands for Pool!!!