Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts
Key: ACapo 1English
Verse
The fesAtival was over and
The Dboys were all plannin' for a fall. A
The caAbaret was quiet
ExDcept for the drillin' in the Awall.
The curDfew had been lifted Aand
The gamEblin' wheel shut down A
DAnyone with any Asense
Had alBmready left Etown.
He was Astandin' in the doorway
DLookin' like the EJack of AHearts.
Verse
He moved across the mirrored room
"Set em up for everyone" he said
Then everyone commenced to do
What they'd been doin'
Before he moved their heads.
Then he walked up to a stranger and
He asked him with a grin
"Could you kindly tell me mister
What time the show begins?"
He moved into the corner
Face down like the Jack of Hearts
Verse
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 and
A 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.
Verse
Big Jim was no one's fool
He owned the town's only diamond mine
He made his usual entrance
Lookin' all 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 his silver cane
They were no match for the Jack of Hearts
Verse
Rosemary combed her hair and
Took the carriage into town
She slipped into the side door
Lookin' like a queen without a crown.
She fluttered her false eyelashes and
Whispered in his ear
"I'm sorry darlin' that I'm late"
But he didn't seem to hear.
He was starin' into space
Over at the Jack of Hearts.
Verse
"Well I know I've seen that face somewhere"
Big Jim was thinkin' to himself
"Maybe down in Mexico or
A picture upon 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 up drew up the Jack of Hearts
Verse
Lily was a princess
She was fair-skinned and precious as a child
She had that certain something
Was a kind of a 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
Who took her everywhere.
But she'd never met anyone
Quite like the Jack of Hearts.
Verse
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 could
Except maybe the Jack of Hearts.
Verse
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
Verse
Lily took her dress off
Buried it away.
"Has your luck run out?" she laughed at him
"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 and
You're lookin' like a saint."
Down the hallway footsteps
Were comin' for the Jack of Hearts
Verse
The Backstage manager was pacin'
All around by his chair.
"There's somethin' funny going on"
"I know I can just feel it in the air."
He went to get the hangin' judge
But the hangin' judge was drunk and
The leading actor hurried by
In the costume of a monk.
But there was no actor anywhere
Better than the Jack of Hearts.
Verse
Lily had her arms around the man
She dearly loved to touch
She forgot all about the man
She hated who hounded her so much
I missed you so she said to him and
He thought she was sincere
But in the hallway he found
Jealousy and fear
Just another night in the life of the Jack of Hearts
Verse
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
You 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
Verse
Two doors down and the boys
Finally made it through the wall and
They cleaned out the bank safe
Said they got off with quite a haul and
In the darkness of 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.
Verse
Well 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
Lord she didn't even blink
The hangin' judge was sober
Lord he hadn't had a drink and
The only person on the scene
Missing was the Jack of Hearts
Verse
Well the cabaret was quiet now and
A sign said "Closed for repair"
Lily had already taken all of the dye
Out of her hair.
She was thinkin' about her father
Who she very rarely saw
Thinkin' about Rosemary and
Thinkin' about the law.
But most of all she was thinkin'
About the Jack of Hearts.