The lyric “I’m a lover and I’m a...” is completed by “sinner” in the Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker.”
Released in 1973, “The Joker” was written by Steve Miller, Eddie Curtis, and Ahmet Ertegun. The song combines blues-rock phrasing with playful boasts and references to earlier Steve Miller Band songs, including “Space Cowboy” and “Gangster of Love.”
The recording became the band’s first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, although that peak came after a 1990 reissue brought it back to prominence. Its relaxed groove and memorable wordplay helped make it a classic-rock staple.
The line lists contrasting character types: picker, grinner, lover, and sinner. Because “winner” and “dreamer” are common rhyme choices in other songs, they are plausible but incorrect substitutes here.