From the recording The Dealer
Lyrics
The Dealer
The Dealer, my child, wore a cottonmouth smile
Kept the Queen of Hearts at his sleeve
All the Jokers on the corner let him walk by
The Jacks never messed with him
He wore alligator shoes shined by the Deuce
The whole house took its cue when the Dealer walked in
The Gambler arrived wanted dead or alive
Rode east with a wild-west wind
On a polished silver tray with gold-leaf trim
The Dealer laid a line of cocaine
But the Gambler pulled a flask from his pocket ‘n laughed
“I prefer rye whiskey, ol’ son, with my game…”
They're playing tonight at the Old Century Inn
The Maitre’d is the Masked Harlequin
With a brave wooden sword he waves immigrants ashore
To work mines, factories, and land
And pays pennies to the Rebel Rag Band
Chorus:
But the music dies away as the cards are cut to play
Ya gotta know what they say, “Only the Dealer
“Only the Dealer, only the Dealer wins…”
The Gambler wore a true .44
The Dealer a slick .38
Each man engaged a bold steady gaze
To see that nothing slipped on the sly
It was 5-card stud for fortune or blood
And they swore by the gun to abide
“I wager the hope of poor ragged souls
“Their sweat, pain, and grief…”
“I’ll see your rough hive and raise you my crimes
“And read your thoughts like a twin…”
But the Gambler’s eyes held the clear mountain sky
He marked well each card ‘n just grinned
The gallery is hushed as the antes are made
By the Gambler the black rose is laid
From the Dealer’s side comes the wages tithed
From mines, factories, and land
From the pockets of the Rebel Rag Band
(Chorus)
With each card shown the pot had grown
But the tables had not yet turned
Hole cards down the Queen of Hearts looked up
To see the Gambler eyeing her way
To the Dealer he said, “Let the Lady in Red
“And this hand decide who’ll carry the day…”
Against the Dealer’s Deuce and three haughty Queens
The Diamond, the Spade, and the Club
The Gambler held a chance at the Heart’s Royal Flush
With the Ten, Jack, Ace, and King
Now the Queen of Hearts would soon play her part
And show just who she was favoring
This the Dealer surmised but could not know
Till the Queen broke free for the Rogue
At the Gambler’s smile their hearts went wild
Through the mines, factories, and land
Rose the chorus of the Rebel Rag Band
But the chorus dies away as guns are drawn to play
Ya gotta know what they say, “Only the Dealer
“Only the Dealer, only the Dealer wins…”
They left before dawn in a carriage drawn
By two bloods that could race the wind
The Lady inside never batted an eye
Gave her heart to the heart that was true
As the long night ends a new day begins
And what happened now comes into view
Smoke curls above a cigar stub
Like smog o’er a trolley car line
While the Alliance that Rules ‘n greed-sotted fools
Vie for all that remains
The sun bleeds high o’er the gray harbor sky
And there’s a dollar-size hole through the Dealer’s brain
When the black hearse arrived at the boarded-up inn
‘Neath the awning stood a wooden Indian
The sign on the window read, “To Orphans ‘n Widows
“Go the mines, factories, and land, thanks to the Gambler
“All hail the Gambler, the Gambler and the Rebel Rag Band…”
Final chorus:
At the end of the day there’s a fresh-dug grave
Ya gotta know what they say, “Only the Dealer
“The bones of the Dealer, the Dealer lies therein…
“Yeah, only the Dealer, the bones of the Dealer
“The Dealer lies therein…”