Deck of Cards

Wink Martindale

Dot 45-15968

(T. Texas Tyler) American Music BMI





NARRATIVE:

During the North African campaign, a bunch of soldier boys had

been on a long hike and 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 and after the Chaplain had read the prayer,

the text was taken up next. Those of the boys who had a prayer book took

them out, but this one boy had only a deck of cards, and so he spread

them out. The Sergeant saw the cards and said, "Soldier, put away those

cards." After the services 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." "And what have you to say for

yourself, son?" "Much, Sir," replied the soldier. The Marshall said, "I

hope so, for if not I shall punish you more than any man was ever

punished." The soldier said, "Sir, I have been on the march for about six

days. I have neither a Bible nor a prayer book, but I hope to satisfy

you, Sir, with the purity of my intentions." 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 Ghost. 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 great heaven and

earth. 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 God saved when He destroyed this earth; there was

Noah, his wife, their sons and their wives. And when I see the Nine, I

think of the lepers our Savior cleansed, and nine out of the ten didn't

even thank Him. When I see the Ten, I think of the Ten Commandments God

handed down to Moses on a table 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 Queen of

Heaven. And the Jack or Knave is the Devil. When I count the number

of spots on 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 4 suits, the

number of weeks in a month. There are 12 picture cards, the number of

months in a year. There are 13 tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter.

So you see, Sir, my pack of cards serves me as a Bible, an Almanac and a

Prayer Book."



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





Lyrics downloaded from another site and verified by Little John.

These lyrics are for the specific recording referenced above,

and are for personal use and research interest only