Expert: Mel Priddle - 9/5/2008

Question
what was the name of the song and the singer who sing a song about a pack of cards in church?

Answer
Hello Wendell,

It's called "Deck Of Cards" and was written and originally recorded in 1948 by T. Texas Tyler.

It has also been recorded by Phil Harris, Tex Ritter, Wink Martindale, Max Bygraves, Bill Anderson, Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart, Merle Travis, The Persuasions, Hank Williams and Dick Curless.

Here are the words:

SPOKEN:
During the North African Campaign, a bunch of soldier boys had been on a long hike. They arrived in a little town called Casino. The next morning being Sunday, several of the boys went to church. A sergeant commanded the boys in church.

After the Chaplain read the prayer, the text was taken up next. Those of the boys that had a prayer book took them out. One boy had only a deck of cards, and he spread them out. The sergeant saw the cards and said, "Soldier, put away those cards." After the service was over, the soldier was taken prisoner and brought before the Provost Marshall.

The Marshall said, "Sergeant, why have you brought this man here?"

"For playing cards in church, Sir," was the response.

The Marshall asked the soldier, "And what have you to say for yourself, son?"

"Much, Sir," replied the soldier.

The Marshall stated, "I hope so, for if not I will punish you more than any man was ever punished."

The soldier said, "Sir, I have been on the march for about six months. I have neither bible nor a prayer book, but I hope to satisfy you, sir, with the purity of my ntentions." And with that, the boy started his story ...

"You see, sir, when I look at the Ace, it reminds me that there is but one God.
And the deuce reminds me that the bible is divided into two parts: the Old and the New Testaments.
When I see the trey, I think of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
And when I see the four, I think of the four evangelists who preached the Gospel: there was Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And when I see the five, it reminds me of the five wise virgins who trimmed their lamps; there were ten of them: five were wise and were saved, five were foolish and were shut out.
When I see the six, it reminds me that in six days God made this heaven and earth.
And when I see the seven, it reminds me that on the seventh day, God rested from his great work.
And when I see the eight, I think of the eight righteous persons that God saved when he destroyed the earth: there was Noah, his wife, their sons and their wives.
And when I see the nine, I think of the lepers our saviour cleansed, and that nine of the ten didn't even thank him.
When I see the ten, I think of the ten commandments that God handed down to Moses on a tablet of stone.
When I see the King, it reminds me that there is but one King of Heaven, God Almighty.
And when I see the Queen, I think of the blessed Virgin Mary who is the Queen of Heaven.
And the Jack or Knave is the Devil.

When I count the number of spots in a deck of cards, I find 365, the number of days in a year.
There are 52 cards, the number of weeks in a year.
There are four suits, the number of weeks in a month.
There are twelve picture cards, the number of months in a year.
There are thirteen tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter.

So you see, Sir, my deck of cards serves me as a bible, an almanac and a prayer book."

"And friends, this is a true story. I know, I was that soldier."


******************************


* This version was written in 1948 by C&W singer, T. Texas Tyler. However, it's origins can be traced back to 1865 in America, and back as far as the late 18th Century in Belgium (1778) and France (1809).


**It has also been known as "Cards Spiritualised" and "The Soldier's Almanac, Bible And Prayer Book".


*** The earlier versions mention the deck being divided into thirteen ranks, one for each lunar month.


**** Some of the differences in the text of the earlier American version, as published in the "U.S. Playing Card Co.'s Official Rules of Card Games":

The soldier is named "Richard Pike".
"The five reminds me of the five wounds of our Lord..."
"The Jack of Clubs represents the traitor Judas, also the knave who reported me to you."
"The other three jacks represent the executioners of Christ."
"The queens remind me of the women who anointed Christ; and the Queen of Hearts of His Mother."
"When I see the King, I think of God Almighty, King of Heaven; also of the three wise men from the East."


***** It has been pointed out many times that the spots on the cards actually count up to only 364, not the 365 claimed. The 1865 text contained an explanation for that, which does not appear in the later versions:

"When I count how many spots there are in a pack of cards, I find there are three hundred and sixty-five, there are so many days in the year".
"Stop", said the mayor, "that is a mistake".
"I grant it", said the soldier, "but as I have never yet seen an almanack that was thoroughly correct in all points it would have been impossible for me to have imitated an almanack exactly without a mistake.
"Your observations are very correct", said the mayor. "Go on".


****** There have been recent re-workings of "Deck Of Cards" that mention the wars in Afghanistan and, most recently, Iraq.


******* There have also been re-workings such as "A Hillbilly's Deck Of Cards" (1966) by Simon Crum (aka Ferlin Husky), and "The Red Deck Of Cards" (1954) by Red River Dave McEnery.


Glad to be of help. Cheers........Mel.