Lyrics
The festival was over, the boys were plannin' for a fall
The cabaret was quiet except for the drillin' in the wall
Curfew had been lifted and the gamblin' wheel shut down
And anyone with any sense had already left town
He was standin' in the doorway like the Jack of Hearts
He moved across the mirrored room, "Set it up for everyone," he said
And everyone commenced to do what they were doin' before, and they had 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, and he laid it all to waste
But his bodyguards and his silver cane, they 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 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 a precious child
She did whatever she had to, she had that certain flash every time she smiled
She'd come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs