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 [Verse] 1 
DGD The festival was over, the boys were all plannin’ for a fall
DGD The cabaret was quiet except for the drillin’ in the wall
GDAD The curfew had been lifted and the gamblin’ wheel shut down
GDA Anyone with any sense had already left town
DD/C#G/BA7D He was standin’ in the doorway lookin’ like the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 2 
DGD He moved across the mirrored room, “Set it up for everyone,” he said
DGD Then everyone commenced to do what they were doin’ before he turned their heads
GDAD Then he walked up to a stranger and he asked him with a grin
GDA “Could you kindly tell me, friend, what time the show begins?”
DD/C#G/BA7D Then he moved into the corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 3 
DGD Backstage the girls were playin’ five-card stud by the stairs
DGD Lily had two queens, she was hopin’ for a third to match her pair
GDAD Outside the streets were fillin’ up, the window was open wide
GDA A gentle breeze was blowin’, you could feel it from inside
DD/C#G/BA7D Lily called another bet and drew up the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 4 
DGD Big Jim was no one’s fool, he owned the town’s only diamond mine
DGD He made his usual entrance lookin’ so dandy and so fine
GDAD With his bodyguards and silver cane and every hair in place
GDA He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste
DD/C#G/BA7D But his bodyguards and silver cane were no match for the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 5 
DGD Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town
DGD She slipped in through the side door lookin’ like a queen without a crown
GDAD She fluttered her false eyelashes and whispered in his ear
GDA “Sorry, darlin’, that I’m late,” but he didn’t seem to hear
DD/C#G/BA7D He was starin’ into space over at the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 6 
DGD “I know I’ve seen that face before,” Big Jim was thinkin’ to himself
DGD “Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody’s shelf”
GDAD But then the crowd began to stamp their feet and the houselights did dim
GDA And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him
DD/C#G/BA7D Starin’ at the butterfly who just drew the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 7 
DGD Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child
DGD She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled
GDAD She’d come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs
GDA With men in every walk of life which took her everywhere
DD/C#G/BA7D But she’d never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 8 
DGD The hangin’ judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined
DGD The drillin’ in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind
GDAD It was known all around that Lily had Jim’s ring
GDA And nothing would ever come between Lily and the king
DD/C#G/BA7D No, nothin’ ever would except maybe the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 9 
DGD Rosemary started drinkin’ hard and seein’ her reflection in the knife
DGD She was tired of the attention, tired of playin’ the role of Big Jim’s wife
GDAD She had done a lot of bad things, even once tried suicide
GDA Was lookin’ to do just one good deed before she died
DD/C#G/BA7D She was gazin’ to the future, riding on the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 10 
DGD Lily took her dress off ... buried it away
DGD “Has your luck run out?” she laughed at him, “Well, I guess you must have known it would someday
GDAD Be careful not to touch the wall, there’s a brand-new coat of paint
GDA I’m glad to see you’re still alive, you’re lookin’ like a saint”
DD/C#G/BA7D Down the hallway footsteps were comin’ for the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 11 
DGD The backstage manager was pacing all around by his chair
DGD “There’s something funny going on,” he said, “I can just feel it in the air”
GDAD He went to get the hangin’ judge, but the hangin’ judge was drunk
GDA As the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk
DD/C#G/BA7D There was no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 12 
DGD No one knew the circumstance but they say that it happened pretty quick
DGD The door to the dressing room burst open and a cold revolver clicked
GDAD And Big Jim was standin’ there, ya couldn’t say surprised
GDA Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes
DD/C#G/BA7D She was with Big Jim but she was leanin’ to the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 13 
DGD Two doors down the boys finally made it through the wall
DGD And cleaned out the bank safe, it’s said that they got off with quite a haul
GDAD In the darkness by the riverbed they waited on the ground
GDA For one more member who had business back in town
DD/C#G/BA7D But they couldn’t go no further without the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 14 
DGD The next day was hangin’ day, the sky was overcast and black
DGD Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back
GDAD And Rosemary on the gallows, she didn’t even blink
GDA The hangin’ judge was sober, he hadn’t had a drink
DD/C#G/BA7D The only person on the scene missin’ was the Jack of Hearts
 [Verse] 15 
DGD The cabaret was empty now, a sign said, “Closed for repair”
DGD Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair
GDAD She was thinkin’ ’bout her father, who she very rarely saw
GDA Thinkin’ ’bout Rosemary and thinkin’ about the law
DD/C#G/BA7D But most of all she was thinkin’ ’bout the Jack of Hearts
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