Lyrics Language: English Song writer/composer(s): Bob Dylan
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Tom RussellLily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts Lyrics:
(Bob Dylan)
The festival was over, the boys were all plannin'
for a fall, The cabaret was quiet except for the
drillin' in the wall. The curfew had been lifted
and the gamblin' wheel shut down, Anyone with any
sense had already left town. He was standin' in
the doorway lookin' like the Jack of Hearts.
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 washed her face, took her dress off and
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.
Lily's arms were locked around the man that she
dearly loved to touch, She forgot all about the
man she couldn't stand who hounded her so much.
"I've missed you so," she said to him,
and he felt she was sincere, But just beyond the
door he felt jealousy and fear. Just another night
in the life of 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.
Lyrics: Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts, Tom Russell [end]
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