He moved across the mirrored
room, "Set it up for everyone," he said,
Then everyone commenced to
do what they were doin' before he turned their
heads.
Then he walked up to a stranger
and he asked him with a grin,
"Could you kindly tell me,
friend, what time the show begins?"
Then he moved into the corner,
face down like the Jack of Hearts.
Backstage the girls were playin'
five-card stud by the stairs,
Lily had two queens, she was
hopin' for a third to match her pair.
Outside the streets were fillin'
up, the window was open wide,
A gentle breeze was blowin',
you could feel it from inside.
Lily called another bet and
drew up the Jack of Hearts.
Big Jim was no one's fool,
he owned the town's only diamond mine,
He made his usual entrance
lookin' so dandy and so fine.
With his bodyguards and silver
cane and every hair in place,
He took whatever he wanted
to and he laid it all to waste.
But his bodyguards and silver
cane were no match for the Jack of Hearts.
Rosemary combed her hair and
took a carriage into town,
She slipped in through the
side door lookin' like a queen without a crown.
She fluttered her false eyelashes
and whispered in his ear,
"Sorry, darlin', that I'm
late," but he didn't seem to hear.
He was starin' into space
over at the Jack of Hearts.
"I know I've seen that face
before," Big Jim was thinkin' to himself,
"Maybe down in Mexico or a
picture up on somebody's shelf."
But then the crowd began to
stamp their feet and the house lights did dim
And in the darkness of the
room there was only Jim and him,
Starin' at the butterfly who
just drew the Jack of Hearts.
Lily was a princess, she was
fair-skinned and precious as a child,
She did whatever she had to
do, she had that certain flash every time she
smiled.
She'd come away from a broken
home, had lots of strange affairs
With men in every walk of
life which took her everywhere.
But she'd never met anyone
quite like the Jack of Hearts.
The hangin' judge came in unnoticed
and was being wined and dined,
The drillin' in the wall kept
up but no one seemed to pay it any mind.
It was known all around that
Lily had Jim's ring
And nothing would ever come
between Lily and the king.
No, nothin' ever would except
maybe the Jack of Hearts.
Rosemary started drinkin' hard
and seein' her reflection in the knife,
She was tired of the attention,
tired of playin' the role of Big Jim's wife.
She had done a lot of bad
things, even once tried suicide,
Was lookin' to do just one
good deed before she died.
She was gazin' to the future,
riding on the Jack of Hearts.
Lily took her dress off, buried
it away.
"Has your luck run out?" she
laughed at him, "Well, I guess you must
have known it would
someday.
Be careful not to touch the
wall, there's a brand-new coat of paint,
I'm glad to see you're still
alive, you're lookin' like a saint."
Down the hallway footsteps
were comin' for the Jack of Hearts.
The backstage manager was pacing
all around by his chair.
"There's something funny going
on," he said, "I can just feel it in the air."
He went to get the hangin'
judge, but the hangin' judge was drunk,
As the leading actor hurried
by in the costume of a monk.
There was no actor anywhere
better than the Jack of Hearts.
No one knew the circumstance
but they say that it happened pretty quick,
The door to the dressing room
burst open and a cold revolver clicked.
And Big Jim was standin' there,
ya couldn't say surprised,
Rosemary right beside him,
steady in her eyes.
She was with Big Jim but she
was leanin' to the Jack of Hearts.
Two doors down the boys finally
made it through the wall
And cleaned out the bank safe,
it's said that they got off with quite a haul.
In the darkness by the riverbed
they waited on the ground
For one more member who had
business back in town.
But they couldn't go no further
without the Jack of Hearts.
The next day was hangin' day,
the sky was overcast and black,
Big Jim lay covered up, killed
by a penknife in the back.
And Rosemary on the gallows,
she didn't even blink,
The hangin' judge was sober,
he hadn't had a drink.
The only person on the scene
missin' was the Jack of Hearts.
The cabaret was empty now,
a sign said, "Closed for repair,"
Lily had already taken all
of the dye out of her hair.
She was thinkin' 'bout her
father, who she very rarely saw,
Thinkin' 'bout Rosemary and
thinkin' about the law.
But, most of all she was thinkin'
'bout the Jack of Hearts
Marco Giunco |
Work | Basket | Music | Words |