Oh fortune tellin' man
Please tell me if you can
Where where my papa was last night.
He plays harp fiddle in a band uptown.
Oh tell me can it be that he's been fiddling around.
Oh fortune tellin' man
Please tell me how I stand.
Is my papa treating me wrong or right?

Last night he was as strong as a lion when he left the flat,
Came home this morning just as weak as a cat.
Oh fortune tellin' man
Please tell me if you can
Where my papa was last night.
Don't tell him where I was.
Just tell me where he was last night.

Oh fortune tellin' man
Please tell me where I stand.
Is my papa treating me wrong or right?
My papa never would leave me
All alone and blue
Especially when there was a little homework to do.
Oh fortune tellin' man,
Please tell me if you can
Where my papa was last night.
Don't tell him where I was.
Just tell me where he was last night.