Lyrical Poker

Poker and pop music go well together. Songwriters like John Phillips, Robert Hunter of the Grateful Dead, Sting, Al Stewart, Merle Travis, Leonard Cohen, and Tom Paxton seem to know something about the world of poker.

Some say the Grateful Dead have more songs about poker than anyone else. One of their best, "Me and My Uncle," is a cover, with music and lyrics by John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas. They performed this in concert more than any other song:

West Texas cowboys, they's all around

With liquor and money, they're loaded down

So soon after payday, you know it seemed a shame

You know my uncle, he starts a friendly game

Hi-lo jacks and the winner take the hand

My uncle starts winning, cowboys got sore

One of them called him, and then two more

Accused him of cheating, well no it couldn't be

I know my uncle, he's as honest as me

And I'm as honest as a Denver man can be

Listen to the whole song to hear what lesson the nephew learned from his uncle. And look for the Judy Collins version, which some claim is better than the Dead's.

"Dire Wolf" (lyrics copyright Robert Hunter):

The wolf came in, I got my cards

We sat down for a game

I cut my deck to the Queen of Spades

but the cards were all the same

And still more Dead:

"Loser" (words by Robert Hunter; music by Jerry Garcia; copyright Ice Nine Publishing):

If I had a gun for every ace I have drawn,

I could arm a town the size of Abilene

Don't you push me baby,

Cause I'm all alone and you know I'm only in it for the gold

All that I am asking for is ten gold dollars

And I could pay you back with one good hand

You can look around about the wide world over

And you'll never find another honest man.

Last fair deal in the country,

Sweet Suzie, last fair deal in the town

Put your gold money where your love is baby,

Before you let my deal go down

Don't you push me baby, cause I'm all alone

Well I know a little something you won't ever know

Don't you touch hard liquor, just a cup of cold coffee

I'm gonna get up in the morning and go

Everybody prayin' and drinkin' that wine

I can tell the Queen of Diamonds by the way she shines

Come to daddy on the inside straight,

Well I got no chance of losin' this time

Last fair deal in the country,

Last fair deal in the town

Put your gold money where your love is baby,

Before you let my deal go down

Everybody prayin' and drinkin' that wine

I can tell the Queen of Diamonds by the way she shines

Come to daddy on the inside straight,

Well I got no chance of losin' this time.

And from "Scarlet Begonias":

In the thick of the evening when the dealing got rough,

She was too pat to open and too cool to bluff.

Doesn't the following describe some poker players we know – say, Bill Chen and Chris Ferguson? Shape of My Heart, written by Sting and Dominic Miller, from Ten Summoner's Tales (copyright 1993):

He deals the cards as a meditation

And those he plays never suspect

He doesn't play for the money he wins

He doesn't play for the respect

He deals the cards to find the answer

The sacred geometry of chance

The hidden law of probable outcome

The numbers lead a dance

I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier

I know that the clubs are weapons of war

I know that diamonds mean money for this art

But that's not the shape of my heart

And, as a bonus, we get an explanation of the derivations of suits.

Al Stewart, known for "Year of the Cat," did a nice song that was never released but can be found on bootleg albums, "Willie the King":

Old man Bodey sits on his own by the side of the bar

Drinking slowly, resting the boots that he's carried so far

Once was a gambler, five-card poker rambler,

That the wise men knew as a slippery deal

And the kids called Willie the King

Sea behind me, fog's coming up on the river tonight,

Just reminds me of smoke curling up in the yellowy light

There's money on the table, took what I was able

And spent my nights with a riverboat queen

And she called me Willie the King

Well I don't mind saying

I've done my share of paying

I've been so broken

Sometimes it seemed that I'd never get back

Watching their faces I was turning over aces

Though they knew my name when the money was gone,

They called me Willie the King

Well I don't mind staying up all night just waiting

Choosing a moment to play that card that could never be beat

Old man Bodey, he's still growing roots by the side of the bar

Drinking slowly, resting his gaze on the cinnamon jar

He once was a gambler, five-card poker rambler,

That the wise men knew as a slippery deal

And the kids called Willie the King

Giving new meaning to the cardroom phrase "smokin' and gamblin'," Merle Travis and Tex Williams wrote the great "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke That Cigarette," covered by Phil Harris, Willie Nelson, and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen:

In a game of chance the other night

Old Dame Fortune was a-doin' me right,

The Kings and Queens just kept on comin' around -

I played 'em hard and bet 'em high,

But my bluff didn't work on a certain guy,

He kept raisin' and layin' the money down

He'd raise me and I'd raise him,

I sweated blood gotta sink or swim,

He finally called and didn't raise the bet -

I said "Aces full, pal – how 'bout you?"

He said "I'll tell you in a minute or two,

Right now I've just got to have a cigarette."

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke that cigarette!

Puff, Puff, Puff and if you smoke yourself to death

Tell Saint Peter at the Golden Gate

That you hate to make him wait

But you just got to have another cigarette.

You can find the whole song in various collections on the Web, and it's worth seeking.

Leonard Cohen's wonderful "The Stranger Song" (copyright 1968 Leonard Cohen and Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is too long to reprint in its entirety, but two verses have a good poker flavor:

And then sweeping up the jokers that he left behind

you find he did not leave you very much

not even laughter

Like any dealer he was watching for the card

that is so high and wild

he'll never need to deal another

He was just some Joseph looking for a manger

You hate to watch another tired man

lay down his hand

like he was giving up the holy game of poker

And while he talks his dreams to sleep

you notice there's a highway

that is curling up like smoke above his shoulder

It's curling up like smoke above his shoulder.

One of the best songs about poker I've seen is by Chris De Burgh, known for his hit "Lady in Red." "Spanish Train" (copyright 1975, from the album "Spanish Train and other Stories") is about a game of draw poker between God and the Devil, with the Devil cheating, of course, and an ironic twist of an ending. The Lord goes for an inside straight – and makes it – but … It's too long to print in full here, so do look it up.

"But I think I'll give you one more chance"

said the Devil with a smile,

"So throw away that stupid lance,

It's really not your style,"

"Joker is the name, Poker is the game,

we'll play right here on this bed,

And then we'll bet for the biggest stakes yet,

the souls of the dead!!"

Well the railwayman he cut the cards

And he dealt them each a hand of five,

And for the Lord he was praying hard

Or that train he'd have to drive …

Well the Devil he had three aces and a king,

And the Lord, he was running for a straight,

He had the queen and the knave and nine and ten of spades,

All he needed was the eight …

And here's something intriguing that I'll leave for your own research. In 1965, a Tom Paxton album, "Ain't That News – Tom Paxton" (Elektra EKL 298 [Mono] EKS 7298 [Stereo], produced by Paul Rothchild), had on it the song "The Name of the Game is Stud." I can find the album on the Web, but that song is the only one for which lyrics are not provided.

(Thanks to members of the BARGE mailing list for terrific input on this topic.)

Michael Wiesenberg's The Official Dictionary of Poker is the ultimate authority on the language of cardrooms. Order it online at CardPlayer.com. And look for The 1,000 Best Casinos in the World soon.